The Windsors. Image shows from L to R: Charles (Harry Enfield), Camilla (Haydn Gwynne). Copyright: Noho Film and TV
The Windsors

The Windsors

  • TV sitcom
  • Channel 4
  • 2016 - 2023
  • 21 episodes (3 series)

Comedy soap opera based upon the lives of the Royal Family. Stars Harry Enfield, Haydn Gwynne, Hugh Skinner, Louise Ford, Morgana Robinson and more.

  • Due to return for Series 4
  • JustWatch Streaming rank this week: 2,249

Episode menu

Series 1, Episode 1

The Windsors. Image shows from L to R: Wills (Hugh Skinner), Kate (Louise Ford). Copyright: Noho Film and TV
Prince Charles tries to keep his family in order, but Wills wants to mingle with the people.

Preview clips

Further details

Pippa, resentful at her sister for bagging a Prince, uses her 'fantastic arse' to lure Harry. In an attempt to be accepted by the Royals, Kate volunteers to help Harry with his fancy dress charity ball at Buckingham Palace.

Prince Edward is babysitting for Wills and Kate, while Fergie, intent on partying like it's 1982, enlists Beatrice and Eugenie's help to sneak into the ball.

Camilla, alarmed at Wills and Kate's popularity, makes sure Kate's party planning backfires by giving her a costume that goes down very badly with the ball's beneficiaries. Wills crash lands the helicopter just in time, but has he landed in a constitutional crisis?

Broadcast details

Date
Friday 6th May 2016
Time
10pm
Channel
Channel 4
Length
30 minutes

Repeats

Show past repeats

Date Time Channel
Thursday 12th May 2016 10:00pm E4
Saturday 19th November 2016 3:25am C4

Cast & crew

Cast
Harry Enfield Charles
Haydn Gwynne Camilla
Hugh Skinner Wills
Louise Ford Kate
Morgana Robinson Pippa
Ellie White Beatrice
Celeste Dring Eugenie
Katy Wix Fergie
Matthew Cottle Edward
Richard Goulding Harry
Tony Jayawardena Sandy
Gordon Kennedy Alec
Guest cast
Donovan Blackwood (as Donovan F. Blackwood) Baxter (Air Ambulance Boss)
Nick Cavaliere Alonso (Cafe Owner)
Matthew Earley Fat Twat
Jason Forbes Paramedic
Howard Lee King Alfred
Writing team
Bert Tyler-Moore Writer
George Jeffrie Writer
Matt Denison Script Editor
Production team
Adam Miller Director
Izzy Mant Producer
Robert Wulff-Cochrane Executive Producer
Camilla Campbell Executive Producer
Mark Williams Editor
Mo Holden Production Designer
Ben Wheeler Director of Photography
Ian Masterson Composer

Videos

Does Kate belong?

Wills and Kate discuss dumped white goods.

Featuring: Louise Ford (Kate) & Hugh Skinner (Wills).

HRH Homunculus

Camilla hatches a devious plan...

Featuring: Harry Enfield (Charles) & Haydn Gwynne (Camilla).

Press

There were more laughs in The Windsors than there were in the frankly bizarre Flowers. The Windsors comes from team behind the long-forgotten Star Stories and imagines the royal family as the stars of a Dallas-style soap opera. Obviously some of the jokes are quite obvious such as everybody fawning over Pippa Middleton's arse and Fergie (Katy Wix) being a complete embarrassment to the entire royal family. However there were some gems among the myriad of gags most notably the Middletons gypsy heritage which Kate (Louise Ford) is still proud of to this day. The bizarre soapy elements of The Windsors also lend a sense of ridiculousness to the show which is keen to demonstrate the fact it doesn't take itself too seriously. The main thrust of the plot is that Charles and Camilla (Harry Enfield and Haydn Gwynne) are worried that the line of succession is going to skip a generation as Wills and Kate are much more popular than they are. Camilla's plot to take down Kate by getting her to dress as a pirate during a military amputee ball was an inspired gag as is the central plot thread of the Duchess of Cornwall attempting to have another child. Other highlights included Harry (Richard Goulding) not being able to differentiate between the many blondes he's been linked to and Wills' (Hugh Skinner) need to become a helicopter pilot again. But my favourite characters was the frankly clueless sisters Beatrice and Eugenie (Ellie White and Celeste Dring) who attempted to start an online make-up tips business to make some much needed cash. Although The Windsors didn't always hang together it did a good job at both creating larger-than-life versions of our royal family and at the same time staying true to its soap opera spoof style. The majority of the cast looked like they were having a good time and I was particularly fond of W1A's Hugh Skinner's performance as the affable William who tried to balance his duty with his love of flying. In fact the only person who slightly spoiled the show for me was Morgana Robinson who, despite being a fine impressionist, was a bit out of place here in her role as Pippa Middleton. While nobody should go into The Windsors expecting the next big comedy hit it's good to have a bit of satirical fun on the box once in a while. Additionally I feel that Channel Four have definitely made the right decision by putting it on on a Friday

Matt, The Custard TV, 8th May 2016

The Windsors, Channel 4, review

There's some mildly subversive satire in there if you look hard enough.

Veronica Lee, The Arts Desk, 7th May 2016

Super-silly sitcom about the royal family from the creators of Star Stories, Bert Tyler Moore and George Jeffrie. The gags bang and whoosh like a New Year's Eve fireworks display and W1A's Hugh Skinner is outstanding (and somehow even posher than before) as Prince William, backed up nicely by Harry Enfield as a mildly demented Prince Charles and Haydn Gwynne as a conniving Camilla. The result is quite joyfully daft throughout. Knighthoods all round.

Julia Raeside, The Guardian, 6th May 2016

I enjoy a cruel joke as much as the next person, particularly when it's aimed at the Establishment, but even I flinched at some of the gags in this new sitcom which mercilessly mocks the Royals. I may have flinched but it didn't stop me laughing, and it's surely a measure of brave satire if you feel a twinge of discomfort.

A furious Camilla wonders why Wills and Kate grab all the attention. Seeing yet another fawning headline she rages that "the Great British scum" will want to skip Charles and have William crowned instead. If only she could have a baby, she thinks, and upset the line of succession. But Charles, played by Harry Enfield, reminds her she's "not had a period since Wham! split up." Elsewhere, a tipsy Fergie gets mistaken for Mick Hucknall and we learn Kate is actually a Gypsy who used to battle Rottweilers in a Morrison's car park.

The jokes might be distasteful, but this is satire and the attacks are aimed at a family who're secure and pampered. They can take it, I'm sure. If not, they can always give up and get a real job.

Julie McDowall, The National (Scotland), 6th May 2016

Review: The Windsors

There are some neat, if not side-splitting, lines and enjoyably daft premises, but the show never really takes off. A lot of the scenes have a touch of the Spitting Image about them for sure - but what works as sketch doesn't necessarily sustain for a full narrative.

Steve Bennett, Chortle, 6th May 2016

The Windsors is very funny

Channel 4's extremely rude cartoonish soap opera about the Royal Family starts tonight. And my goodness is it rude.

Ben Dowell, Radio Times, 6th May 2016

The Windsors: behind the scenes

A star cast of comics impersonate our first family in this Channel 4 sitcom. But is it satire or something more affectionate?

Alexi Duggins, The Guardian, 6th May 2016

The Windsors - a real blast of punk comedy

I'm not bang up to date on treasonous acts and how to avoid them, but the writers and cast of The Windsors probably shouldn't expect an invitation to a Buckingham Palace garden party any time soon.

Benji Wilson, The Telegraph, 6th May 2016

The Windsors review

If you like broad, cartoon-like comedy, stay in with The Windsors.

Paddy Shennan, Liverpool Echo, 6th May 2016

Preview: The Windsors

The Windsors isn't going to win any awards for subtlety and the writers certainly aren't going to win any knighthoods, but if you like seeing royal poshos royally sent up this should put a smile on your face.

Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 4th May 2016

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