King Charles pays light-hearted tribute to comedian…

King Charles III paid a light-hearted tribute to the late Barry Humphries at a state memorial service Friday in Australia, recalling his own apprehension when the comedian’s alter ego, Dame Edna Everage, played a prank on him a decade ago.

Video of the prank during a Royal Variety Performance in London in 2013 was widely replayed after Humphries died in Sydney in April at age 89.

Humphries, in the character of the snobbish Everage, approached the then Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, as they sat in the theatre’s royal box.

Everage looked at her ticket then explained to the laughing royals before leaving, ‘I’m so sorry, they found me a better seat.’

Charles alluded to the joke in a message read by Australian Arts Minister Tony Burke at the memorial service for Humphries, who died aged 89 in April, in the Sydney Opera House today. 

‘I suspect that all those who appeared on stage or on TV with Barry´s Dame Edna, or who found her appearing at the back of the royal box, will have shared that unique sensation where fear and fun combine,’ Charles wrote, prompting laughter from the audience. 

‘Those who tried to stand on their dignity soon lost their footing. Those who wondered whether Australia´s housewife superstar might this time just go too far were always proved right. No one was safe,’ Charles added.

Humphries’ comic characters ‘poked and prodded us, exposed pretensions, punctured pomposity, surfaced insecurities but, most of all, made us laugh at ourselves,’ Charles wrote.

Among celebrities who sent video tributes to the Australian-born entertainer, who spent decades in London, were composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, musician Elton John and comedians Jimmy Carr, David Walliams and Rob Brydon. 

Media magnate Rupert Murdoch and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also paid tribute.

Thousands of fans, some of whom dressed up as Humphries’ character Dame Edna Everage, had flocked to hear the tributes in the Sydney Opera House today.  

Humphries was ‘one of the funniest people in the world,’ Elton John said in a video message which also praised his generosity and kindness. 

‘It is sad that we won’t be seeing him again but we have so many memories of him,’ he said. ‘His books, his TV appearances, and the wonderful jokes and wonderful kindness that he showed to me and everyone.

‘He was a raconteur of incredible genius. I will miss him so much.’ 

The comic genius died in Sydney’s St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney in April aged 89 following complications from hip surgery.

‘He was completely himself until the very end, never losing his brilliant mind, his unique wit and generosity of spirit,’ his family said at the time.  

Humphries is understood to have received a phone call from King Charles while he was being treated.

Paying tribute to Humphries, media mogul Rupert Murdoch said the comedian’s character of Les Patterson was a ‘living lesson’ in how not to behave, albeit one some ended up emulating. 

‘Your personal courage still resonates, your creativity still sparks ours, your intellect is still a beacon, you are a man of many parts and a part of many lives,’ he said in a video message.

‘Barry you will never be silenced, your friendship still resides deeply in my heart,’ Murdoch added. 

Away from the limelight, Humphries was known for his complicated love life – he was married four times – and sometimes controversial remarks.

‘Most nights my brother and I sat in the back row of a theatre praying he wouldn’t say something he shouldn’t,’ his son Rupert told the memorial.

Following the ceremony, the famed opera house – where Everage famously warbled alongside the Sydney Symphony Orchestra – lit up in the comedian’s honour. 

Humphries had lived in London for decades and returned to native Australia in December last year for Christmas.

But he died in April following complications from a hip surgery. He told The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper a month before he died that his physiotherapy had been ‘agony’ following his fall and hip replacement. 

‘It was the most ridiculous thing, like all domestic incidents are. I was reaching for a book, my foot got caught on a rug or something, and down I went,’ Humphries said of his fall. 

Humphries has remained an active entertainer, touring Britain last year with his one-man show ‘The Man Behind the Mask.’ 

The character of Dame Edna began as a dowdy Mrs. Norm Everage, who first took to the stage in Humphries’ hometown of Melbourne in the mid-1950s. She reflected a post-war suburban inertia and cultural blandness that Humphries found stifling.

Everage is one of Humphries’ several enduring characters. The next most famous is Sir Les Patterson, an ever-drunk, dishevelled and lecherous Australian cultural attache.

Patterson reflected a perception of Australia as a Western cultural wasteland that drove Humphries along with many leading Australian intellectuals to London. 

Everage was first conceived when Humphries toured southern Australia as a young actor in the 1950s. 

She evolved from a drab housewife to a self-proclaimed ‘gigastar’ parody of a celebrity best known for her catchphrase ‘Hello Possums’.

His turns as Everage and Patterson saw him achieve international renown, particularly in Britain where he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2007 for services to entertainment.

At the height of her fame, Everage hosted a primetime talk show that attracted luminaries such as Mel Gibson, Sean Connery, Charlton Heston and Chubby Checker.

Humphries, a law school dropout, found major success as an actor, writer and entertainer in Britain in the 1970s, but the United States was an ambition that he found stubbornly elusive.

A high point in the United States was a Tony Award in 2000 for his Broadway show ‘Dame Edna: The Royal Tour.’ 

Throughout his 70-year career, Humphries – and his ebullient alter egos Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson – met most of the royal family, from the late Queen herself, to the Queen Mother and King Charles.  

His talent and wit thrilled the royals, who were amused by the aristocratic titles he gave to his much-loved characters.

He developed a longtime friendship with King Charles – appearing at the then-Prince’s trust concert in 2006 – and was said to be a favourite of Queen Elizabeth and the Queen Mother.

To their delight, the royals were often subjected to his pranks, with Dame Edna and Sir Patterson making key appearances at high-profile family events including the Queen’s Jubilee.

Dame Edna also famously exchanged fashion tips with Princess Diana, and commentated on two royal weddings, including that of Prince Andrew to Sarah Ferguson in 1986 and Prince William and Kate Middleton in 2011.