King Charles showed his class after a comedian jokingly branded him a “grovelling b*****rd” at an awards bash. Back in 1994, comedy writer Spike Milligan was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement gong at the British Comedy Awards. Milligan became a household name in Britain in the 1950s as a founding member and primary writer for The Goon Show, a wildly-popular surrealist BBC radio comedy that was beamed into millions of households in the post-war years.
The King was among the many fans of the programme long before he became monarch, and reportedly struck up a personal friendship with Milligan. Taking to the stage to receive the award, in recognition of his decades of work across radio and TV, the comedy writer wiped a tear from his eye as he received a standing ovation from the star-studded audience.
After quipping that he would regard the award as a “golden handshake”, the host, Jonathan Ross, read out a personal message from then Prince Charles.
It offered a glowing tribute to Milligan, with the royal saying he was “someone who grew up to the sounds of The Goon Show on the steam-driven wireless”.
As Ross continued, Milligan, who was then in his mid 70s, interjected irreverently: “Ah, the little grovelling b******,” which sent the venue into howls of shocked laughter.
Ross abandoned his attempts to read it with the guffawing continuing as the comic left the stage.
Milligan said he later apologised to the royal and wrote him a fax jokingly asking: “I suppose a knighthood is out of the question.”
But the King is said to have seen the funny side. Milligan told an interviewer that in his response, Charles said: “I’m sorry, all the New Year’s knighthoods are full up, but try a little light grovelling and one might come your way’,” BBC News reported.
Milligan, who adopted his father’s Irish nationality, eventually received an honorary Knighthood for services to comedy in the 2000 Queen’s New Year’s Honours List.
Charles presented him with the medal at the investiture ceremony. Milligan had previously been made made an honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1992.
He died at his home aged 83 in February 2002 following a long health battle. After learning of his passing, the King said: “It was an immense sadness to learn of Spike Milligan’s death and my heart goes out to all his family.
“It is hard to see Spike’s parting as anything other than the end of a great era of British comedy, exemplified by Spike’s extraordinary genius for the play on words and for the art of the nonsensical unexpected.
“His particular form of hilarity and wit, apart from helping to sustain the British spirit through the unmentionable horrors of war, has provided countless millions with the kind of helpless mirth which adds unique value to life.
“To have a gift of that sort is truly life-enhancing. Personally, but along with so many others, I shall miss his irreverent and hysterical presence and can only say that the world really will be the poorer for his departure.”