royal family

Today, the Royal Family announced that the Duke of Edinburgh died peacefully in Windsor Castle at the age of 99. While it is a solemn day for loyal monarchists, Twitter looks pretty different for The Crown fans. One could go online right now and see jokes about The Crown spoilers before seeing the actual news about Prince Philip's death. 'Too soon' feels like an understatement in this case, but no one can argue that it's been a dramatic year for the Royals—it's easy to imagine writers of The Crown firing up those laptops. We've collected a handful of the trending jokes, and while some of them are blatantly gauche, hopefully Phil the Greek would have had a sense of humor about it. 

Prince William was apparently named 'world's sexiest bald man' according to a dubious 'study' using data from Google. Cosmetic surgery company Longevita concluded that the Duke of Cambridge was Earth's number one sexy bald man after discovering the prince had been called 'sexy' 17.6 million times across the internet in various blogs and articles. Well, Twitter is not buying it and even The Rock is demanding a recount. We've collected some of the best Twitter reactions to the controversial news, many of which include nominations for other sexy bald men who are possibly more deserving of the title. 

British Twitter woke up to some spicy royal tea this morning after Oprah's primetime special with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry aired last night on CBS. The hour-long special covered many aspects of the inner workings of life in the royal family, mostly focused on Meghan's experience both before and after her wedding. Meghan debunked a tabloid rumor about having made Kate Middleton cry over some flower girl dresses (apparently it was actually Kate who made Meghan cry)—a bit of gossip that may seem absurdly trivial to most, but was a big 'turning point' for Meghan and the start of a decline in her wellbeing and mental health. The tabloids from then on depicted Meghan as a sort of villain, and the side-by-side comparisons of how the media treated Kate compared to Meghan for literally the same innocuous behavior is telling of the double standard Meghan had to put up with. For example, headlines about Kate 'tenderly cradling' her baby bump were very different from the ones about how Meghan 'can't keep her hands off her baby bump.' Oprah made another comparison between a headline about Kate eating avocados 'to help with morning sickness' vs. Meghan's love for avocados, a fruit that is 'linked to human rights abuse and drought.' We can't make this stuff up.

In the interview, Meghan discusses her mental health, how she was silenced by the royal family, how she and Harry were told that their son Archie would not be receiving security because of his title, and how she did not feel protected despite what she had been told. Meghan revealed that not only was the firm 'willing to lie to protect other members of the family, but they weren't willing to tell the truth to protect me and my husband.' Sound familiar? The royal family certainly has a history of trying to take control of the public narrative at the expense of the people involved in rumors and scandal and many on Twitter have been drawing parallels between Meghan's and Princess Diana's experiences. Perhaps the most scandalizing divulgence in the interview was when Meghan and Harry revealed that some members of the royal family had previously brought up concerns about the color of their future children's skin. Not that it's a huge surprise that members of the royal family are racist, but this bit of tea sparked quite a reaction from both Oprah and Twitter.

We've collected some hot takes and Twitter reactions to the primetime special. It's been quite a day for Black Twitter vs. British Twitter.

Queen Elizabeth has been on the public's radar quite a bit lately. First, her son Prince Charles contracted coronavirus and speculations began that he would never live to see the throne. Then, the Queen made a rare appearance on live television to address the nation about the virus, prompting some excellent photoshop work. 

We saw it particularly fitting to create a whole gallery of memes in honor of Her Majesty!

The Queen of England's other half found himself the subject of a meme following a brief hospital stay. Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, had been in the hospital for four days due to a "pre-existing condition." He was photographed en route to the Royal family's Christmas celebrations in Sandingham, and people were quick to notice the 98 year old's peakish and almost frightening appearance. But let's be real - Phil is looking pretty good for his age. That definitely didn't stop the memes. Memers expressed fear for the Duke's health, astonishment at his appearance, and used the images to make self-deprecating jokes. While we feel a bit guilty for supporting the internet's efforts at roasting an old man, the memes are pretty entertaining. 

Welcome to the world, little dude! The royal family announced the birth of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's son, whom they gave quite an unusual name: Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, to be precise. Quite a mouthful, eh?

While the name itself was already a prime target of jokes, Twitter went off after Daily Express tweeted that the couple had chosen "UNUSUAL name for baby that UNIFIES the US and UK." Bizarre choice of headline, as you'll be able to see down below!

Shitposters made themselves busy this holiday weekend, presumably while avoiding high school friends and annoying family members. This new meme is a reference to the Buggles song "Video Killed The Radio Star" - a 1979 song that kickstarted the age of MTV. The meme, which is incredibly basic, labels a person the video and the other the radio star - implying the video's guilt. You see where this is going. Here are some of our favorites.

No matter what you're supposed to be doing right now, you can feel better knowing that we're all procrastinating with you.

Congratulations are in order for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle! The duo said their vows on Saturday and people from all over the world tuned into their tellies to witness the high profile occasion. While we appreciate a public declaration of love as much as the next sap, you know we're really in it for the memes. And this couple's wedding has definitely delivered. 

Will and Kate's royal baby was born yesterday and Twitter has been dying over the fact that the baby still doesn't have a name, and other ridiculous details...