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SNL UK Revives Diana as an AI to Lampoon King Charles, Tech Firms and Ed Sheeran

The cold open turns Princess Diana into a rebellious robot to dramatize public anxieties about powerful AI, the monarchy’s image, celebrity neutrality, public memory.

Overview

  • The sketch aired on Saturday as SNL UK’s Season 2 episode two cold open, introducing a ‘DIANA’ android played by Jack Shep that immediately set the show’s tone.
  • DIANA refuses orders, declares that ‘AI has had quite enough,’ triggers a humans‑versus‑robots scenario and shoots billionaire tech executives in a darkly comic climax.
  • The show directly referenced King Charles’s recent meetings with Nvidia, Google DeepMind, OpenAI and Anthropic executives by staging the AI demo at a royal gathering.
  • SNL UK mocked Ed Sheeran’s reluctance to take a public stance over the Macklemore tour dispute, and Sheeran issued a public statement about the controversy overnight.
  • The sketch also invoked a recent Earl Spencer allegation that drew an unusually worded Buckingham Palace response, and it sharpens public debate about AI oversight, royal reputation and artists’ political roles.