Prince William's Latest 'Dad Joke' Quip Carries on Yearslong Banter with Famous Comedian
Jack Whitehall has crossed paths with members of the royal family several times, including going to school with Kate Middleton!
Prince William's knock-knock joke at his latest engagement came with a playful comment about comedian Jack Whitehall, continuing their yearslong banter!
On April 25, the British actor and comedian, 35, responded to the Prince of Wales’ quip hours after a video hit social media of Prince William saying, "I am here with the gang here talking about male mental health, and I've been asked to produce a dad joke. I was trying to channel Jack Whitehall because most of his jokes are pretty dad-like." Prince William, 41, dropped the reference when asked to share a joke while recording a student radio show at St. Michael’s Church of England High School, opting to share his daughter Princess Charlotte’s "favorite joke at the moment" — a childhood classic about an "interrupting cow."
"An outrageous shading from the future King," Whitehall captioned a playful video shared to Instagram with the hashtags #DadJokes and #theregoesmyknighthood.
The Settle Down stand-up star filmed himself reacting to footage of Prince William cracking the joke to students and scoffed when the Prince of Wales delivered the punchline, whipping out a notebook to jot down a thought.
Whitehall further circulated the joke on X by reposting a video of the lighthearted moment from Rebecca English of the Daily Mail, which he captioned, "Rinsed by the future king" with a heart emoji.
According to the Jungle Cruise actor, he and Prince William have had a playful back-and-forth for years. Whitehall performed at the Royal Variety Performance in London in 2014, where he reconnected with a former classmate: Kate Middleton! The Princess of Wales and Whitehall both attended Marlborough College, which Whitehall said he slipped into a joke during his performance.
"I referred to her as the one that got away. I flirted a little, 'cause I said that she was one of my first crushes at school," he said while appearing on The Jonathan Ross Show in November 2014.
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Kate Middleton and Jack Whitehall chat after the Royal Variety Performance on Nov. 13, 2014."And then in the lineup, William came over, and he was really funny. He was very nice, but very passive-aggressive — 'Are you flirting with my missus?' It was very, very funny," Whitehall recalled. A photo of their meeting flashed on the screen, to which Whitehall reacted, "That’s him going, I’m going to have you beheaded."
Last spring, the actor and comedian joked he was not invited to King Charles and Queen Camilla’s coronation in May 2023 because he "absolutely tanked" a previous royal gig.
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Prince William and Jack Whitehall chat at the Royal Variety Performance at the Palladium Theatre in London on Nov. 13, 2014."I was invited to Kensington Palace a private gig for Charles and Camilla and all of their staff, for their Christmas party. I was set up to fail," he joked to the Times Radio two days before the crowning ceremony. "There was no stage, there was no microphone, I literally had to perform in front of all of them like the court jester."
"I did a load of jokes about going to school with Kate Middleton, I referred to her in jest as 'the one that got away.' I made some jokes about Prince Harry being very brave in Afghanistan because a ginger in that climate was really running a lot of risks," he recalled. "It was awful, all of that material, and none of it barely even raised a teeter."
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Whitehall said he got to meet the royal couple after, where King Charles surprised him with a hilarious line.
" 'Ah yes, so great, I think next year we'll probably book a magician,' " Whitehall recalled the monarch saying. "I was like, 'Wow, that is some serious shade!' "
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