The Prince of Wales was subjected to a series of jibes about his lengthy wait to inherit the throne from some of the world’s highest profile comedians at a gala to celebrate his 60th birthday last night.

Robin Williams and Bill Bailey sang Birthday Blues, a twelve-bar blues song improvised backstage in 20 minutes, which depicted the Prince looking miserable while sitting in bed with the Duchess of Cornwall. The reason for his bad temper, they sang, was that “Your mother’s got two birthdays/ And you’ve only got one”.

They also imagined the Duke of Edinburgh speaking to his son about the Queen’s decision not to abdicate. “One day you’re going to rule the world/ But you have to hang around/ Because your mother’s not going anywhere/ She ain’t gonna give up that crown.” They also joked that “the one thing that ain’t on the money is that you ain’t even on the money”.

The Prince, who attended the We Are Most Amused gala at the New Wimbledon Theatre in southwest London with the Duchess and Prince Harry, was also serenaded by Eric Idle, who adapted the lyrics to Always Look on the Bright Side of Life. The former Monty Python comedian suggested that the Prince needed to cheer up about his wait for his coronation day: “If you’re 60 years of age/ And your mum won’t leave the stage.” The Prince, who occasionally rocked back and forth in his seat with laughter, was also told to “get a life” by Omid Djalili, a comedian of Iranian descent.

“I’ve done the Royal Variety Performance twice,” he said. “Prince Charles was there both times. To me, that’s not variety. Get a life! You don’t have to keep watching Iranians. That’s what you’ve got MI6 for.”

Irreverent comments also flowed from John Cleese, who obliquely called the Prince an old fool. The comedian, who was pushed on stage in a wheelchair wearing a dinner jacket with pyjama bottoms and slippers, pretended to receive a prompt from the wings because he had forgotten the Prince’s name. “It is my very own birthday present to preside over the birthday celebrations of His Royal Highness Prince... Charles you old fool. Prince Charles, sorry. I am sorry.”

Robin Williams, introduced by Cleese as William Robins, greeted the Prince from the stage: “Yo, yo, what’s up Wales? House of Windsor, keep it real.” He made jokes about imagining Sarah Palin, the recently defeated Republican vice-presidential nominee, appearing topless on television and saying: “How do you like my northern slopes now, boys?” He also referred to Bill Clinton’s indiscretion with Monica Lewinsky. “Bill was so unlucky,” he said. “He found the only Jewish girl who couldn’t get a stain out.”

The Prince was especially amused during a performance by Bill Bailey, who suggested that God Save the Queen should be replaced with the theme to the Pink Panther. He bent over with mirth as the comedian said that he felt sorry for countries with terrible national anthems, such as Belarus.

Andrew Sachs made his first public appearance since he was insulted by Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand by performing in a skit as Manuel, the put-upon Spanish waiter he played opposite John Cleese in Fawlty Towers. Asked by Cleese to name the 11th letter of the alphabet, he replied: “Que?” Other performers included Rowan Atkinson, who performed as a vicar in a monologue written by Richard Curtis, and Joan Rivers. Cleese remarked that Rivers was one of the few American women he had not slept with, a reference to his recent divorce settlement with Alyce Faye Eichelberger, is third wife. “Women, eh? Can’t live with them, can’t afford to pay them $2 million either.”

— The gala will be televised on ITV1 on Saturday November 15 in two parts at 8.35pm and 10.20pm.

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