Kerry Parnell: Double ouch as Sussex brand takes South Park hits

Harry and Meghan have a golden opportunity to gain some insight from South Park’s satirical take their demand for privacy, writes Kerry Parnell.

First, William and Catherine took a tour of Middle Earth, then Harry and Meghan relocated to South Park.

It’s been an unexpected week but this is the kind of royal news I am here for.

Perhaps Prince William made a wish when he saw that ring in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power TV studios.

As Gandalf said, “The Ring has awoken, it’s heard its master’s call.”

When the Wales’ took a secret tour of the studios in Ascot, near Windsor, and met the cast of the Amazon series, William would never have dreamed the ring would wreak its revenge across the world, not in Mordor, but California, in the South Park studios.

The latest episode of South Park has taken aim at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Picture: Comedy Central

On Wednesday, a new episode dropped of the long-running satirical series, called The Worldwide Privacy Tour, lampooning Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. It’s brutal.

In it, the “Prince of Canada and his wife” go on a world tour brandishing placards reading, “We Want Our Privacy”.

They promote the prince’s new book, called Waaagh and appear on Good Morning Canada, where the wife character says she told him to write the book because, “your family are like stupid and so are journalists”.

When the host says, “So you hate journalists? And now you wrote a book that reports on the lives of the Royal Family? So you’re a journalist,” they storm off.

They move to South Park, opposite Kyle’s house, where they park their private jet, hang banners demanding privacy, hold loud parties, play polo and, in one scene, the prince even shows his blue bits.

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. Picture: Mike Coppola/Getty Images

They then visit a branding agency, where their files read, “Sorority girl, actress, influencer, victim,” and “Royal prince, millionaire, world traveller, victim.” Double ouch.

Eventually, the prince sees the light.

“Trying to make ourselves into a brand just turned us into products,” he says. “No more magazines and Netflix shows, we can just live a normal life!” His wife remains silent.

Twitter lit up with the hashtag #DumbPrinceAndHisStupidWife, as Stan called them in the episode, while Kyle said in despair, “I’m sick of hearing about them. But I can’t get away from them. They’re everywhere — in my f-ing face.”

Considering Harry revealed on their Netflix documentary that he reads the press about himself, we can assume he’ll watch it.

And while creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone are renowned for taking down celebrities, from Tom Cruise’s controversial Trapped in the Closet episode in 2005, to last week’s Cupid Ye, roasting Kanye West, sometimes it hits home.

When South Park depicted Russell Crowe in a TV show titled Fightin’ Around the World, the Gladiator-star had a humble reaction.

“I think that they are very, very funny men,” he told 60 Minutes, adding he learnt from it.

“I did think the whole thing was a fight, I did think my whole career was a struggle,” he said.

As to what Harry and Meghan think, as Galadriel said, “Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.”

Although she wasn’t talking about Kyle, Cartman and co, it still rings true.