It’s A Royal Knockout! with Bianka Ismailovski

Just the Gist

In 1987 the Royal Family needed to win back the hearts & minds of the commoners who were starting to revere the monarchy less than they had previously. Prince Edward, the youngest of Queen Elizabeth’s kids, came up with what he thought was the perfect solution: have the Windsors dress up in silly costumes & play wacky, slapstick games with celebrities on a TV special that would be broadcast around the world.

The end result was a bizarre fever dream in which famous faces like John Travolta, Tom Jones & Meatloaf were running around a field dressed up as jesters, potatoes and chess pieces, throwing giant foam hams at each other, while the royals cheered and hooted. Yes, it was messy. No, it hasn’t been depicted in The Crown (yet).

The whole undignified debacle was a huge embarrassment for the royal family, and a definitive turning point in public sentiment when it came the monarchs. It’s also absolutely flippin’ hilarious and you need to watch the whole show after you listen to this ep!

Skip straight to the story: approx 9:08

Jacob shares the story with Bianka Ismailovski

Follow Bianka on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/biankaismailovski/

We recommend listening to this episode of her podcast 'Sad And Sexy' https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/accents-mistakes/id1637279237?i=1000585558727

Check out Bianka's Dad on Eurovision https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJ6E-pfWPjo

Go and see Bianka https://moretalent.com.au/tours/like-godzilla/

We give you just the gist, but if you want more, there's this:

WATCH the full show here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwkv0-QlbZY

READ a few articles & think pieces about the show and its aftermath: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/was-this-the-day-when-royalty-lost-the-plot-1305932.html

https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/17400890/royal-knockout-queen-prince-andrew-edward-meat-loaf/

https://www.oversixty.com.au/entertainment/tv/the-excruciating-public-blunder-that-haunted-the-royal-family-for-years

https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/nostalgia/its-royal-knockout-80s-tv-7041550

https://whynow.co.uk/read/its-a-royal-knock-out-the-holiday-special-buckingham-palace-wishes-wed-forget

http://www.its-a-knockout.tv/royal.htm

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