Royal Prime Time

British TV channel ITV1 has invented a royal family even nuttier than the real one. Its new series The Palace is an ultrakitschy show that follows an imagined 24-year-old Prince of Wales, who suddenly finds himself taking the throne as King Richard IV. ITV1 describes its royal family as “entirely fictional,” but there are certain similarities to the Windsors: King Richard is a charming Hugh Grant type, fond of carousing in ritzy nightclubs with his irresponsible younger brother, George, and the widowed Queen Charlotte has quite a penchant for gin.

Nicky Johnston/ITV