The queen's grandson Prince Harry has said he will not attend but is due to go to his Invictus Games for disabled veterans in the Netherlands
The queen's grandson Prince Harry has said he will not attend but is due to go to his Invictus Games for disabled veterans in the Netherlands GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA via AFP / John Lamparski

KEY POINTS

  • Prince Harry was reportedly "all in" and "serious" about hosting "Saturday Night Live"
  • The talks about the Duke of Sussex making his "SNL" debut reportedly stalled for no clear reason
  • Twitter users have mixed opinions about Harry potentially appearing on a show that pokes fun at the royal family

A report that Prince Harry nearly hosted "Saturday Night Live" was met with mixed reactions on social media.

The New York Post's Page Six learned from multiple insiders that the Duke of Sussex was in talks with producers on the long-running NBC show last year to host an episode in the run-up to the release of his memoir "Spare." International Business Times could not independently verify this information.

However, the discussions reportedly stalled at the 11th hour, and it was unclear why.

"I know that Harry was all in, he was really serious about doing it — and it would have been great fun as promo for the book," an unnamed TV source told the outlet.

According to the report, "SNL" producers had been "after" Meghan Markle's husband "for a while," and insiders believed that people would have tuned in to Prince Harry's hosting debut.

Prince Harry could still make an appearance in the future, however, as unnamed sources told Page Six that "SNL" executive producer Lorne Michaels reportedly still wants the royal on the show.

However, Twitter users appeared to have mixed opinions about the idea.

"Because who the hell wants to hear him whine? Later Haz-been," one critic commented.

Another tweeted, "Makes you wonder why talks mysteriously stopped. Maybe because Meghan wasn't invited?"

"Can we please pretend Prince Harry was never a thing in America?" a third user wrote.

"Can anyone name a 2023 'SNL' host? I cannot. And would still not be able to if Harry had managed to be one of them," another commenter said.

Some disapproved of the idea of Prince Harry appearing on a show that often mocks the royal family, with one person tweeting: "Don't do it, Prince Harry!!!"

"SNL" has a long history of poking fun at the British royal family. Fred Armisen played the late Queen Elizabeth II as a Cockney mob boss alongside Bill Hader as Prince Philip. In 2012, Martin Short appeared in a sketch set at Princess Kate's first OB-GYN appointment.

The show mocked Prince Harry and the royal family again in its most recent episode when James Austin Johnson and Devon Walker played two "British rappers" and former Eton schoolmates named "Milly Pounds" and "Shirty" on "Weekend Update."

Host Michael Che asked the pair, "So, guys, what's going on with the royal family? Can you give us an update?"

"Right, right, OK, listen, mate. OK, all the focus is on the royals, right, when it should be on Britain's exploitative tabloid press. It's pants, mate. Rubbish. Pants," said Johnson as Milly Pounds. "They're mean to our boy Harry, all right. We know what really goes down. We've known Harry since our days at Eton."

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The comedian then started to rap, "Prince Harry, Prince Harry, stayed over at Tyler Perry's. Press cold like Ben and Jerry's. I'm allergic to dairy."

Walker, as "Shirty," added, "Harry and Meghan, Ronald Reagan, interracial dating, Queen said, 'Not today, Satan.'"

Prince Harry has promised an 'unflinching' account of the royal family in his book
AFP