‘’Prince Andrew: The Musical’’ is a TV comedy musical written by British comedian Kieran Hodgson, with music and lyrics by Hodgson and Freddie Tapner.
It was written following Prince Andrew’s infamous interview with Emily Maitlis, where he was quizzed on his connections to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his own alleged crimes. Something of a loose biopic, the show opens with the interview (using archive footage), narrated by Hodgson as Andrew. After this, the show goes back to Andrew’s glory days as a hero in the Falklands, moving through his marriage and divorce with Sarah Ferguson and finally his downfall due to his association with Epstein.
This show provides examples of:
- Amicable Exes: The romantic ballad “Will You Be My Ex Wife?” has Andrew and Sarah Ferguson agree to an amicable settlement to their divorce, but the two remain unofficial partners.
- Colorblind Casting: British-Zimbabwean comedian Munya Chawawa plays Prince Charles.
- Descent into Darkness Song: “A Different Kind of Duty” starts off bright and peppy, but drops into a minor key when Andrew meets Ghislaine Maxwell, something he himself lampshades.
- Desperately Seeking A Purpose In Life: After the retiring from the Royal Navy, Andrew finds himself bored with life as a non-working royal; unfortunately this leads to him taking on the trade envoy role which leads to him meeting Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Andrew and Sarah’s relationship is never portrayed as less than loving.
- Everyone Has Standards: Even Andrew perceives Prime Minister Tony Blair as "sinister."
- Fame Through Infamy: Emily Maitlis is delighted with Andrew’s terrible performance in the interview:Emily Maitlis: His excuses are a joke and yet I’m stifling my laughter/Cause with TV gold like this I know I’m guaranteed a BAFTA!
- Frontline General: Andrew gains popularity early on with his service as a helicopter pilot in the Falklands (though he vastly exaggerates his contribution by saying he won the war single-handedly.)
- Greek Chorus: Comedian Joe Robinson repeatedly shows up as a newspaper vendor reading out headlines covering the time gaps.
- How We Got Here: After the interview and opening number, the action goes back to the end of the Falklands War, before going through Andrew's life up until this point.
- Hypocrite: When reprimanding Andrew for letting a paedophile into Balmoral, Charles accidentally clicks onto an Embarrassing Slide with him and infamous molester Jimmy Savile.
- "I Am Great!" Song: “England Expects” has the titular Prince singing about his victory in the Falklands to an adoring crowd.
- "I Want" Song: “Obey” has Prince Charles singing about the various scandals that are going on, and about how he wishes they would all go away, so he might have a clear path to the throne he is destined for.
- Ignored Epiphany: At the close, Andrew ponders whether his actions really have damaged the country and the monarchy. This thought lasts only a few seconds.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Whilst Andrew remains hopeless out of touch and unrepentant, he makes an genuine point that the negative behaviour of lesser royals (himself, Princess Margaret, Meghan Markle, Diana Spencer) serve as a distraction from the activities of the heirs and monarchs, making them seem better by comparison.
- Lovable Rogue: Andrew very much sees himself as this to the very end.
- Parental Favoritism: Both Princes refer to Andrew as “Elizabeth’s favourite son.” This was reportedly Truth in Television.
- Summon Backup Dancers: For “You’re Always Gonna Need an Andrew”, a tap dancing chorus suddenly appears at Andrew’s side.
- The Cameo: Harry Enfield appears as Tony Blair, whilst drag queen Baga Chipz plays Margaret Thatcher.
- The Eleven O'Clock Number: “You’re Always Gonna Need an Andrew”, with an unrepentant Andrew claiming he is arguably providing the royals a service through his disgraces, whilst Charles dismisses him and declares his role as a royal is at an end.
- The Ghost: The Queen is referred to a number of times but never seen, nor are Andrew’s children Beatrice and Eugenie, or Epstein himself for that matter. Given the nature of his crimes, this may have been wise.
- The Paragon: The unseen Princess Anne is referred to by both Princes as “the blessed Anne.”
- Underage Casting: Whilst Hodgson and Chawawa are approximately the right age to play their characters in the 1980s, they are both half the age of Charles and Andrew by the end of the film.
- The Un-Favourite: Despite being the better behaved, Charles realised he is seen as this by both his parents and the British people.
- Princess Eugenie is referred to only as “the other one.”
- Villain Protagonist: Andrew himself.
