Joan Rivers is being laid to rest today. Joan planned out her own funeral, and many of her requests are being honored. For example, she wanted an actual red carpet at her funeral. That’s going to happen. She also wanted to be buried in a Valentino gown, which I’m sure will happen too. Anyway, I just wanted to bring you one last Joan Rivers story because it actually blew my mind a little bit. Apparently, for more than a decade, Joan has been tight with Prince Charles. He sent her Christmas presents every year and she was one of the few Americans invited to his wedding to Camilla. He thought she was hilarious and he loved when she teased him or told jokes about royalty.
One thing you may not have known about Joan Rivers: she was friends with Prince Charles ever since 2003, when the duo were reportedly introduced by mutual friends in the South of France. In fact, the late comedian was one of only four Americans invited to the royal’s 2005 wedding to Camilla Parker Bowles. She performed for Charles, as well as Prince William and Prince Harry, at a comedy gala in honor of Charles’s 60th birthday. She exchanged Christmas gifts and notes with Charles. And according to The Independent, the future King of England even allowed Rivers to spread the ashes of her late friend around his Gloucester garden.
So perhaps it is not too surprising that Charles and Camilla have issued a heartfelt statement about the iconic comedian today via a Clarence House spokesperson: “The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall are deeply saddened to hear of the death of Joan Rivers,” the statement reads. “Joan Rivers was an extraordinary woman with an original and indefatigable spirit, an unstoppable sense of humor and an enormous zest for life. She will be hugely missed and utterly irreplaceable.”
While speaking to New York magazine in 2010, Rivers expanded on her unlikely friendship with Prince Charles. That particular excerpt from the profile:
“[S]he tells me a story about Prince Charles, with whom she has been friends for several years. (“Not inner circle,” she says. “Outer-inner circle.”) HRH sends her a Christmas gift every year, which, more than once, has been two very fancy teacups. “One year,” she says, “I took a picture under my Christmas tree with the teacups and wrote, ‘How could you send me two teacups when I’m alone?’ Another time I wrote, ‘I’m enjoying tea with my best friend!’ and I sent a picture of me in a cemetery. And he never acknowledges it! He never says to me when I see him”—doing his accent perfectly—“ ‘Ohhhh, funny funny funny!’ So this year I thought, I’m just going to write him a nice thank-you note. And the other day our mutual friend calls and says, ‘Just spoke to Charles! He said, “I can’t wait to see Joan’s note this year!” ’ ”
Just because she was friends with Charles did not mean that she avoided joking about his family, though… It seems as though Charles’s ability to take these jokes in stride made Rivers respect him more. She has gone on record praising the future king’s intelligence and taste in comedy. “Charles and Camilla have a great sense of humor,” Rivers once said, via E!. “He is so charming, so humorous. All the passions that everyone used to laugh at him for—organic food, architecture, talking to the flowers—we’re all into those things now. . . . He is so far ahead of his time, and I think he will be a very good monarch. He is a very smart man and I adore him.”
One of the things I always liked about Joan was that she wasn’t a celebrity-sycophant just for the sake of sucking up. Joan openly and honestly bashed the people she disliked (Chelsea Handler) and then when she actually had something nice to say, people believed her. What I’m saying is that there was probably an element of “Oh, I know Prince Charles, he’s fabulous!” to the relationship, but most of it was probably pretty genuine. I can see what was in it for Charles too – he must get so tired of everyone sucking up to him and walking on eggshells around him. Joan would never do that.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Awesome and rather sweet.
Interesting! I always like hearing about unusual celebrity friendships.
I was telling my sister this the other day and it blew her mind too. What I’ve seen if Joan speaking of them C & C , she always spoke fondly of them. It does make me like them more and see them as more human that they have a sense if humour to enjoy Joan’s company .
Gack….that filler really makes me wince; ouch oww eek 🙁
Pretty awesome, as you say Kaiser.
Chazza does enjoy earthy dames a lot, and it’s terrific when he’s appreciated outside the more predictable limits of his appeal. Jolly nice story re both.
Chazza?!??!
Hahahahahhahahaahahhahahahahahahah Listen Ive Been Laughing intermitently for a smooth 5 minutes.. Chazza! ..im gonna savir this all day!
This was well known by many royal followers.
When she was invited to his parties or events it usually made the UK papers even if a small blurb. Her friendship with Charles actually goes way back , it got stronger in later years though.
Even when Charles was single way before Diana, Joan made him a part of her act sometimes. She was a hilarious lady.
Will be missed greatly. She was a real trailblazer for women in entertainment from comedy to talk shows, to creating the current red carpet fashion formats. Love her. RIP Joan.
I still cannot quite believe that she is gone. Such a funny lady and so tough! One would have expected her to last a long, long time.
It’s neat that she was friends with Prince Charles. I read somewhere that she really ripped on Camilla’s looks at one point and that everyone pertaining to the situation, including Camilla, had a jolly British chuckle over the whole thing and that was that.
How sweet. Speaks well of both of them.
Always liked Rivers. Didn’t like Charles until I read this.
Still don’t. Prince charmless. Three cheers for democracy, which means you don’t get to be head of state unless people vote for you.
Well, I admit it does make me find one thing OK about him. I guess. But I’m in your corner, Anne tommy. I’ll just never understand why royalty persists or matters.
What I really love about Joan is that she was able to take the piss out of someone and that someone was often laughing at the joke without taking it too seriously. The joke were just too funny and true to not laugh at them.
I loved how Demi Lovato said it was a honor when Joan criticized her boobs. Or Katy Perry saying there’s no point anymore in wearing horrible stupid dresses if Joan is not there to rip them apart.
Alexa Chung called Joan a legend because she told her’ How do you get laid in those horrible outfits i have no idea’
My favorite is about Lena Dunham ‘Wtf is going on with that tattoo? It’s like Michael J fox drew it and Stevie Wonder filled it in.’
IT’s so so very true! That tattoo looks EXACTLY like that.
she was awesome. She didn’t take any bullshit and to all the peple saying she was an insensitive and evil bitch I’ll just quote her again saying ‘OH! GROW UP!’
Rest in peace Mrs. Joan. I really hope Meryl Streep will cry in 5 different accents. You really deserve it.
Thanks for reminding us that the targets of Joan’s humor appreciated the jokes, too. I never got to meet her, so I don’t know why her death makes me so sad. Love the idea that she and Prince Charles were buds!
No Meryl.But a lot of people turned out.She would have loved it.The Gay Man’s Chorus,Hugh Jackmen singing and her dear friend Howard Stern giving the eulogy.It closed with bagpipes playing broadway tunes.RIP Joan.
Paola thanks for sharing those tidbits.
X 1000 on the tattoo LOL!
Man, I miss her so so much, the world is empty without her. If “Fashion Police” continues, I don’t think I could watch. Like loosing a grandmother all over again and it’s so fuc*ing painfull!!! 🙁 🙁 🙁
I wont be able to watch it anymore, it’s over. She was the heart and soul of the show and there isn’t a suitable replacement. They wont have her quick wit, sarcasm or fashion sense. She always looked impeccable whether on the show, the red carpet, on stage or walking through an airport. They should just let the Emmy/VMA special be the final episode.
I started watching Fashion Police over the summer while I was at my grandma’s–omg. That’s why I was SO shocked when it was announced that Joan had died. I was watching her up until a few weeks ago on tv. And Lord–even when she said something HORRIBLE (like along the lines of that awful Holocaust joke), sometimes I still couldn’t help but laugh. It’s like an ashamed giggle type thing. She knew how to say it.
And one of the things I REALLY liked about her was that whether or not she was ripping someone apart, or making a nice-funny joke about them–it never seemed personal with her. Not even in interviews. Obviously, we all have our favorites, but it always seemed like it was all business for her–not just a way for her to vent out her personal feelings about some celeb.
Joan Rivers was a true star in every way. I never met her sadly, but was always a huge fan. I will honestly miss her brand of comedy.
It’s good for someone royal to have one friend who’ll tell it like it is. I wonder if she ever had passed a few notes to Papa Phillip. If so, I imagine they would’ve been quite hilarious. RIP JOAN RIVERS F.P. won’t be the same again!
Yes indeed, you’d imagine Philip would enjoy barbed wit. But. A sense of humour in a man is hugely attractive….but it’s not always accompanied by an appreciation of humour in a woman. That’s a thing I’ve always dug about Charles….he puts it top of his list!
Very cool to hear. Rest in peace, Ms. Rivers.
Does anyone remember the comedy record that Joan released around the time of Charles and Diana’s wedding? She inserted herself in a garish hat carrying a blender into that famous family portrait:
http://www.nwitimes.com/entertainment/columnists/offbeat/joan-rivers-royal-joke-photo/image_e36afc38-6763-520b-85d0-853c7643ddb1.html
Brilliant photo. I’m gonna miss the old girl. She really was one of a kind.
Kathy Griffin did an excellent job on TODAY talking about her friendship with Joan Rivers and Joan’s friendship with Prince Charles and Camilla. She said he absolutely adored Joan. It was very touching.
Joan’s death has hit me so hard–like no other celebrity’s ever has. As Ice Queen above said, “The world is empty without her.”
It’s hit me hard too, I haven’t felt this way since Princess Diana died. And the world does indeed feel emptier without her.
+1
It’s amazing and wonderful that they became and remained good friends. What’s sad is that we hear about these great things after someone dies. Rest In Peace, Joan.
That is really cool-I had no idea they were friends. I was reading something about Joan the other day, and she talked about (paraphrasing here) how when she started out she knew she had to take control of the audience-and how in those days, it was “a very masculine thing to do”. And then she said she knew she could do it, and said something like “That’s what Catherine the great had to do” in her time. I was like , wow. Joan Rivers was a fan of Catherine the Great (as am I). This lady had alot more to her than we will ever know.
She was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Barnard College. Another fun fact – Joan collected Faberge pieces. So did Malcolm Forbes. I saw them in a Faberge museum exhibit a while back in New Orleans. She was a very chic, well bred woman whose public persona was not at all like she was in her private life. I have always been a fan.
Sassy- I saw the Faberge Collection at NOLA as well-it was there during the time I lived there-it was so beautiful. I collect small eggs that based on Faberge designs made by a company in Russia-they are lovely as pendants. joan had great taste!!
I don’t intend this as offensive or with any disrespect, but I don’t understand the awesomeness. What makes it awesome? That he was friends with her, vice versa, and why? How is it more special than other friends, (I guess is what I’m not getting)?
Taking as read that ‘awesome’ stands in for any damn positive adjective these days, I see it as meaning ‘Well, fancy that? Isn’t that altogether lovely’. Both famous parties, shown to be a little more nuanced than their respective personae suggest?
You got me. That’s as good of an explanation as any, but I’m still not feeling the uniqueness and specialness. Shrugs and says, “Okay”.
Too late to edit weedy answer, but GNAT said it. Tis the (apparent) implausibility that’s so tickling really.
I don’t know about awesome, but it made me smile (and I’m sure I’m alone in this) because I see Charles as a stiff, spoiled, brat who has no sense of humor, and surrounds himself with ass kissers, so it made me like him a little bit to see that he enjoyed someone funny who actually made jokes at his expense.
+1
Charles has a sense of humour and he is genuine friends with people who constantly take the piss out of him publicly and privately. Spike Milligan comes to mind.
LAK
Spike’s a brilliant example…..in this case a hero of Charles’ boyhood, and the latter very much the awed admirer for a long time. Charles took on the chin some aspects of Spike’s humour that fans of the Goons and of all his later work may have found surprisingly cruel.
I think many a pampered prince might have felt that dignity demanded he withdraw his friendship, not that Spike would have blinked. I like to think Charles felt himself favoured in spite of the odd painful shaft, and this says a lot to me about his character…..he knew very well which one of them had gifts to bestow.
I agree. And this has been one of the things that I’ve found frustrating about Rivers’ death – people that 2 weeks ago wouldn’t have hesitated to label her an unfunny harridan are now gushing about how they’ve always loved her and what a trailblazer she was. Which she was, but I can’t help but think Rivers herself would have taken all of this adoration with a grain of salt.
I feel the same way about her as I did before she passed. My greatest sympathy is for her daughter, who had a shocking loss. No one can ever replace a mother’s love (and Joan clearly worshiped/protected her daughter) and with the unexpectedness of it all, I’m sure, it has made it all the more devastating for Melissa. In a sense, Joan’s death was probably a good one. No prolonged illness, no fear of the impending day of death, and after a long life of doing exactly what she liked to do.
I think Joan was a mixed bag in life and her death doesn’t change that. I never thought of Prince Charles as particularly uptight, but I saw a documentary about him when he was younger. Plus all the leaked details about Camilla, etc. I think it’s fairly safe to say that he tries to act ‘above it’ like royalty is expected to do, but he puts his pants on a leg at a time, like everyone else.
Totally hear you. In fact, about a year before she died, I was sort of disillusioned with her. I loved Fashion Police before it was an hour long, but after that, some of the things she said just went too far in my opinion. But when someone dies, I think you look at their entire life as a whole, and overall I really did admire her. So I’m not gushing over her, and she had human failings as we all do, but I choose to remember the best of her. And there was a lot of “best.”
Agree… calling Michelle Obama a trans slur was the final straw for me.
I found her in her later years to be somewhat more vicious than funny. But in her earlier years… that woman was hysterical. And from what I understand, she was actually a warm and genuine woman.
I think you can be vicious, but what you say must have some kind of message or have an element of truth that comes through to most people. That’s what makes something funny, even if it is a painful subject. Saying outrageous or mean things doesn’t always result in a punchline, lesson or universal truth that is funny. Sometimes a vicious statement is just a vicious statement. Sometimes an outrageous statement is only an outrageous statement. Other times, vicious and outrageous statements can be hilarious. The difference between the two is difficult to articulate in what makes one successful and the other just something is not.
whoops, was posting about the blender photo and saw someone beat me to it!
One of the local newscasters in our area is married to the woman that used to produce Joan’s talk show back East. He wrote on his Facebook that when he moved to CA, Joan told his girlfriend, now wife, that he was a keeper and she should follow him out West. She told the wife she would hold her job for her if the relationship didn’t work out. Of course the relationship worked out but who does that now a days? That was a very sweet gesture.
I watched both the documentary about her and a film of her stand-up act (on Netflix) this past week. She mentions in the documentary that she put all the kids of her staff through college. I don’t doubt it. It’s a good portrait of a complex woman.
As for Prince Charles, in the stand-up act film, she does a very funny joke about Diana.
I liked her better after watching these two films. You see how very hard she worked up until the last minute, how much she needed to make people laugh, her heartbreak about being rejected by Carson and NBC, and of course the death of her husband. Her comedy is VERY physical, up until the end — I don’t know how she did it!
I need to watch that documentary. I hear it ‘s great.
It’s pretty boggling to think that part of Joan’s legacy might be a broadening of Chazza’s fanbase!
Given her sentimental link with (HRH’s home) Highgrove, I’d be charmed if he dedicated a little bit of the garden to her memory. Just a tree and a seat, with a calming vista.
Still very sad about her passing. I grew up watching her and I’m over 50 so it’s been a long time.
There’s a piece in today’s Observer by the notoriously humour-free Barbara Ellen, boldly pointing out Joan Rivers’ fearlessness/importance in comedy (who knew?) whilst shunting the poor woman into alignment with the forces of Universal Bitterness and Non-humour, as she does with most things.
I hope to god some other writers will nip this in the bud, or JR may be hijacked by a demographic she’d have smithereened with a deft blow.
(I tried forging a link to the piece, but got 18 feet of garble.)
This one?
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/07/joan-rivers-female-comedians-strictly-come-dancing
If so, at least in my view, she takes a tremendous leap. If you don’t find Rivers funny, you don’t find women in general funny, or something like that? I’m not sure. I’ve never read one of her articles before. I can find specific men unfunny; Adam Sandler, for example, and not extrapolate that because he exists therefore all men are unfunny. Maybe she is making the argument that Rivers was the first successful female stand-up? But I’m not sure if that is accurate, wasn’t Phyllis Diller before her?
I’m not arguing that Joan wasn’t funny, she was a lot of the time, less so in the end, which is my opinion, and not a global truth, but what was this writer trying to say exactly?
I just read that Howard Stern gave her eulogy. I can’t think of anything cooler. She adored him…I adored her.
I am so pleased she got the send-off she wanted.
Janet Charlton is reporting that Joan had Botox injected into her vocal chords to soften her gravelly voice and that it was done under local anaesthetic.
She has ragged on Russell Crowe for more than 12 years, and the first time she had ever been invited back to the Tonight Show by Jimmy Fallon on his first night as host, Russell was going to be on also. They met, and he even wanted to stay on while she came out as a guest, which shocked her. He was laughing at all of her jokes. I think she was impressed that someone she told jokes on all that long would have a sense of humor about it all this time later.
He tweeted this upon her death. I’m a fan of Russell as an actor, but this made me really like him even more.
Russell Crowe wrote: ”Dear Joan , 12 years being the butt of your jokes …Then we met, had a laugh and I learned you were something amazing . Shine on. RIP”
Audra McDonald performed “Smile” and Hugh Jackman performed also. She would have loved that, She’s had a huge gay fanbase since the beginning of her career and has talked about it, and so it was fitting that the Gay Men’s Chorus performed Broadway songs at her funeral.