Stephen Colbert's attempt to extend an apology for a satirical skit aimed at Katherine, the Princess of Wales, fell short of garnering approval from royal experts.
As the host of The Late Show, Colbert found himself among several American presenters compelled to issue apologies after jesting about the Royals' decision to step back from official duties, which coincided with an announcement of undergoing cancer treatment last week.
In his latest episode, Colbert expressed regret and extended well wishes to the Princess of Wales for a speedy recovery. However, his efforts to backtrack failed to mollify numerous royal experts and members of the public, who criticized Colbert for not delivering a sincere apology to Katherine.
Royal correspondent Richard Palmer commented, "I haven't seen the full clip, but if this is an accurate transcript, apologies may be a stretch; full of regret just about right." Commentator Victoria Arbiter echoed Palmer's sentiment, noting that the TV host had fallen short of offering a proper apology to the Princess of Wales.
Arbiter remarked, "Regret is even a stretch; it smacks of 'I'm sorry you chose to be upset by my jokes.' He had to throw in a line about her getting the best care because of who she is. An actual apology to the parties involved would have been far more convincing."
Author Valentine Low questioned Colbert's wording, pointing out that Kensington Palace had announced Katherine wouldn't attend official events until at least Easter after undergoing extensive abdominal surgery in January. Low stated, "Colbert acts as if the cancer diagnosis came completely out of the blue. In a sense it did, but the palace said that she'd had surgery and would be away for several weeks. So she hadn't disappeared; she was doing what they said she would, and clearly wasn't in a great place."
Addressing the backlash he faced since joking about Princess Katherine's alleged disappearance from the public eye, Colbert insisted that he had not intended to offend her. He said, "I don't make light of somebody else's tragedy. Far too many of us know that any cancer diagnosis of any kind is harrowing for the patient and for the family." He added, "Though I'm sure that they don't need it from me, I and everyone else here at The Late Show would like to extend our well wishes and heartfelt hopes that her recovery is swift and thorough."
The real question arises as to who inspired Colbert to revisit a long-dead topic at this time. It's likely his tequila-slugging buddy, Harry, on orders from his wife and WME, who represent Meghan and Colbert. He owes an apology to the CH Mundy family too. Members of the public also appeared unimpressed with Colbert's statement, noting that he failed to mention the word "sorry" as he expressed regret.
User LaraFlyingMinks wrote, "I've read the entire transcript; he doesn't say sorry at all. No contrition there." Another user, DemitraAutum, commented, "No apologies whatsoever." And MelWest5 said, "Seems like just about all of the celebrities that said hurtful things towards Kate over the past month are now backtracking. They put themselves in that position and now they're backed into a corner with no way out. The old saying 'you've made your bed now lie in it' springs to mind."
