Comedian Harry Hill Faces Backlash Over Princess Diana Waxwork Photo

Comedian Harry Hill has drawn criticism for a social media post featuring a waxwork of Princess Diana, which many have deemed to be in poor taste. Hill, 61, shared a photograph on Instagram showing him posing with the wax figure, accompanied by the caption, "I will never talk of our time together... sorry but that's special time." The post has ignited a firestorm of negative comments from social media users.

Many followers expressed dismay, with remarks such as "Not sure this is in particularly good taste mate… too soon isn’t it" and "NOT FUNNY AT ALL GIVEN THE CURRENT SITUATION... Bit of a d**k comment mate just saying... bad taste." Some users directly stated, "You were never funny and this proves you're still not... Too soon Harry, too soon."

The public reaction to Hill's post comes at a time of renewed focus on Princess Diana, particularly following extracts from a tell-all book by her brother, Earl Spencer. The book, reportedly titled Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, contains claims that have reportedly unsettled the Royal Family.

One incendiary assertion attributed to Earl Spencer is that Prince Charles, shortly after Diana's 1997 death, told him, "Rest assured, we'll forget her soon enough." This alleged comment has prompted an unusual response from Buckingham Palace, with a spokesperson questioning the accuracy of Earl Spencer's account. The Palace suggested that "fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory."

Earl Spencer has also claimed he had a significant disagreement with Charles concerning the funeral procession, specifically regarding Prince William and Prince Harry walking behind their mother's coffin. According to Earl Spencer, this led to the alleged comment from Charles and an accusation that the Spencer family lacked a sense of duty.

Earl Spencer indicated that evidence supporting his account of the argument and Charles's reaction can be found within his eulogy at Diana's funeral. He pointed to his emphasis on Diana's sense of duty and his concluding remarks that her "unique, the complex, the extraordinary and irreplaceable Diana, whose beauty, both internal and external, will never be extinguished from our minds" as a direct rebuttal to the idea of her being forgotten.

This is not the first time Harry Hill has faced controversy. In 2016, a backdated episode of his show Harry Hill's TV Burp was broadcast, containing scenes that were described as "transphobic." Hill himself has commented on the changing landscape of comedy, suggesting that a show like TV Burp might not survive the current climate, stating that it "could easily have been cancelled after the first series and we would be now."