How Prince Philip Became The Most Memeable Member Of The Royal Family

Becoming a meme is an unavoidable part of being a public figure today. No one who makes headlines is safe, and their worst paparazzi shot is only ever a catty tweet away from being the image they're remembered by. If it’s got a big story attached to it? Even better.

The meme cycle often acts as a reaction to the news, but the best material has the staying power to last beyond whatever story it was attached to. One of the latest examples to get this special treatment has been Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and husband of Queen Elizabeth II. When the 99-year-old left a month-long stay in a hospital last week, his ghoulish appearance prompted parodies galore.

Of course, the meme was helped by his period of ill health coinciding with a seismic Oprah interview involving his grandson and granddaughter-in-law. As if to draw a very unsubtle parallel, the continued fallout of Harry and Meghan’s revelations put the oldest, frailest member of the British royal family in the spotlight. Accusations of bullying and racism cast a grim light on the monarchy and gelled a little too well with the Duke’s long-held reputation for causing offense, whether that be accusing Papua New Guineans of cannibalism or asking a sea cadet whether she used to be a stripper.

For some participants in the meme, Prince Philip is a convenient representative for outdated attitudes and beliefs that have no place in a modern monarchy. Others take a more extreme view, using the concept to underscore their anti-monrachy beliefs. Either way, the memes he has inspired are merciless, such as mockups of personalized make-up palettes, with shades like “sepsis” and “bile,” and Spotify playlists filled with songs purported to “kill Prince Philip on the spot.”

It makes a clear statement, that one rich and controversial old man is no match for the omnivorous innovation of the internet. Having retired from public duties in 2017, his already diminished position in the monarchy has been reduced to a few official Instagram appearances that are spiced up by the occasional tabloid story. This has led to most memes about him focusing on juxtaposition, between his own bygone era and the overstimulating, social media-led world we find ourselves in today. In other words, there is a final boss battle of Prince Philip and late capitalism, which he seems to be losing.

Today’s society is also a more egalitarian place than the one into which he was born, valuing merit over inherited status — something Harry and Meghan take advantage of as they move from royal duties to the privileged but more conventional working world. It is also part of what makes them worse meme material than their elderly relative because they represent every other aspirational but bland celebrity couple.

This was emphasized when Oprah dominated the memes surrounding their tell-all, suggesting that in terms of internet culture, the moment was more about the conversation than the individuals. As a result, some of the attention has bounced back onto Prince Philip, acknowledging him as a representative as much as a figure in his own right.

The Duke is not the only royal to get the meme treatment following the interview. With the shocking accusation that one family member had conversations about the potential shade of their son Archie’s skin, Prince William became a prime suspect.

It led to the unflattering Prince William at 38 format, in which his picture is compared to that of other, older celebrities perceived to look more attractive than him. Inevitably, it has spurned a version with his grandfather, too. The "Us and Them" mentality has become turned on its head. However, not all contemporary royal memes are quite as scathing, especially when it comes to the "People’s Princess." Diana has also had her mortality used as a punchline, but the tone is a more positive one.

The intense devotion of her fanbase has inspired a snowclone, RIP, They Would’ve Loved. Identifying random, usually online things that the late princess missed out on, the format implies how at ease she would be in modern society. Her hypothetical embrace of the new makes the meme the antithesis of Prince Philip's content, on top of reminding us of another time the royal family struggled to adapt to changing times. The Duke as a meme is not just repulsed by modernity, he cannot physically deal with it.

The studied public appearance of the monarchy was never going to transition smoothly into the chaos of the internet. Their most high-profile crisis since the advent of social media (give or take Prince Andrew) has highlighted this further. For the many social media users who were born well past when Prince Philip reached retirement age, their main impression of him may well be as a possessed-looking skeleton hunched in the back of a BMW. His memeification might seem cruel, but it is a symptom of an influential online viewpoint not always represented in the mainstream media. Until then, people will probably continue to threaten aged royals with drops of McDonald’s Sprite.

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