Ian Hislop has shared his blunt assessment of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's UK return, describing them as "a gift to comedy". In an interview with The Sunday Times this month, the BBC star did not hold back when asked about the Sussexes.
Comparing Harry to a comedy character
Hislop compared Prince Harry to "Tim Nice-But-Dim," a character he and Nick Newman created for comedian Harry Enfield in the 1980s. He recalled: "That was entirely based on people we were at school with. Our view was that public schoolboys were all presented as unbelievably sharp and clever, and we thought all the ones we knew were very nice but very dim. They worked for their dad's water filter company; they were not at the cutting edge of capitalism. And that's Harry."
Criticism of the Daily Mail lawsuit
Commenting on the prince's failed lawsuit against the Daily Mail, Hislop added: "It's one of those cases where both sides are behaving terribly. They shouldn't have gone against the Mail. They literally had no evidence. Harry's evidence was appalling."
A vocal critic of the Sussexes, the satirist has frequently mocked Meghan and Harry on the long-running series Have I Got News for You. He has appeared on the show since its first episode aired in 1990.
Jokes about As Ever and beekeeping
After As Ever's raspberry jam sold out in minutes, Hislop joked that there was hardly any for sale in the first place. "It has immediately sold out, which I thought was good, unless there are only two jars..." he said in April 2025.
Referencing Meghan's calls for customers to reuse the jam jars, he noted: "It would also make a lovely holder for writs from charities that your husband has been involved in."
Sparking agreement from fellow panellist Phil Wang, the comedian pointed out that Meghan did not appear to enjoy beekeeping, despite filming herself giving it a go on her Netflix series, With Love, Meghan. "And she's like 'I love coming out and getting in touch with nature', but you could see she was about to throw up," he mused.
Criticism in Private Eye
Hislop has also criticised the Sussexes in Private Eye, the satirical and current affairs news magazine that he has edited since 1986. In an interview with the BBC, the journalist declared that there was an "assault on truth," which is why he is unafraid to call things out with humour.
"It remains the job of journalism to try and point out things that are true, and the jokes say, 'Come on, that's ludicrous,'" he explained.
