"No wonder King Charles sent William and Catherine": Bradley Walsh hosting Royal Variety Performance blasted as "total cringe"

Netizens took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to blast Bradley Walsh for his "cringe" opening monologue at The Royal Variety Performance 2023, which aired on ITV1 and ITVX on Sunday, December 17, 2023. In the monologue, the 63-year-old stand-up comedian addressed Prince William, who attended the event alongside Kate Middleton and said:

"Your Royal Highness, I worked for your gran, your great gran, your dad, your grandad, your great grandad, and now you. And I must say, ask me if I've got an MBE. Nah, ain't got one. Ask me if I've got an OBE, nah, ain't got one of them. Ask me if I've got a CBE - no! No. Not a sausage. Not even a member of the RAC anymore."

The opening monologue did not sit well with netizens on social media and they took to Twitter to react to the same.

The Royal Variety Performance is an annual televised variety show held to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity. This year, the event was held at the Royal Albert Hall on November 30, 2023.

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"Opening bit was total cringe": Netizens react to Bradley Walsh's opening monologue at The Royal Variety Performance

Bradley Walsh started the event by asking the Prince of Wales to be added to the honours list. He said, "Well it is downhill from there," and then added, "Your Royal Highnesses welcome to The Royal Variety Performance 2023."

As per The Sun, he continued:

"Now, to be honest, these can be a stuffy affair but not tonight because they have put me in charge. Now this is what we are going to do, we are going to get stuck in straight away. Guess what we are going to have? We are going to have a Mexican Wave, come on!"

He addressed the royal guests as "highni," stating that the plural for highnesses "doesn't sound right."

He deemed:

"It's the new collective noun for members of the royal family, the highni."

While some were entertained by Bradley Walsh's opening monologue, several individuals on X did not seem to be fans of the comedian's jokes. Some called it "total cringe," while others believed that his pleas for an OBE were "embarrassing."

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King Charles was absent from The Royal Variety Performance 2023

According to the Express, viewers expressed their disappointment at the absence of King Charles and his wife Queen Camilla at the event. Since its inception in 1912, the reigning monarch has always attended the charity event. King Charles was in Dubai for COP28 when the event took place.

The Prince and Princess of Wales, Prince William and Kate Middleton, sat in the royal box. They were joined by Victoria, the Crown Princess of Sweden, and her husband Prince Daniel.

The Prince And Princess Of Wales Meet Paloma Faith At The Royal Variety Performance 2023 (Image via Getty Images)

According to the Express, the annual pre-recorded event included performances by talented artists like Cher, Paloma Faith, Hannah Waddington, Rick Astley, and Zara Larsson, among others. They were joined by the cast of Sister Act, Lion King, and Beauty and the Beast, who entertained the crowd with their mesmerizing performances.

Bradley Walsh hosted the event for the first time. He is an actor and presenter best known for hosting the ITV game show The Chase.

In a statement to the Express ahead of his hosting duties, he said:

“I am so excited to be presenting this year's show. It’s been 30 years this year since I first performed at The Royal Variety Performance, so what an absolute honour to be hosting. The line-up is incredible and I can’t wait for you all to see what I have in store."

According to Yorkshire Live, Bradley Walsh made his debut at The Royal Variety Performance in 1993, performing in front of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, who was the royal guest of honor in attendance that year.