Last night on HBO‘s Real Time With Bill Maher, the host predicted that the British people’s overall “reverence” towards the crown will die with Queen Elizabeth II.
During his opening monologue, which you can watch above, Maher prefaced his series of jokes in reaction to her passing by saying he always “liked” the queen.
“Queen Elizabeth died at 96. They say the cause of death was Meghan Markle’s podcast,” he joked.
Maher told his audience that both President Biden and former President Trump sent their condolences to the British people, adding that Trump offered to “bury her in his golf course.”
Later on in the show, Maher kicked off the panel discussion by talking about how taboo it was for even his most critical guests to poke fun at the queen.
“I made lots of jokes about the queen. I noticed whenever it was a British person, like, even the ones who seem iconoclast, Sharon Osbourne was here, Piers Morgan, Andrew Sullivan, the British people- it’s not funny,” he said. “It’s like, ‘Oh, no, don’t call it the old bag.’ Whatever it is, ‘No.’”
“Even the ones who came to America, the British people, they had it they have the thing- or, my question is is it just for this lady?” Maher wondered. “I think it died with her. I think that reverence- I think she was the last one. And now the monarchy- I’m not gonna say it’s gonna go away. But I think that kind of like, ‘No, don’t say anything about’ – I think that’s gonna go. I think she was the last of the thing.”
Guest Matt Welch, Reason Magazine editor at large, responded by saying how ironic it was that British punk rock vocalist John Lydon, known to most as Johnny Rotten from the Sex Pistols, will say “God save the king” but tweeted out his best wishes for the queen.
“That’s what I’m saying, it’s in their blood,” Maher reacted.
NYU Professor Scott Galloway, of British heritage who was also on the panel, told Maher he can’t think of another person in history “who has reigned over an institution with so much grace over 70 years,” adding that he felt it was “heartening” to “see so many people come together and collectively be sad about one person.”
“This guy is only second generation British, apparently, and he’s got a boner for her,” Maher joked (still speaking about Rotten).
“100 percent, 100 percent,” Galloway grinned.
Stream Real Time With Bill Maher on HBO Max