James Haskell leaves fans gobsmacked over vile Royal Family death joke

James Haskell left audience member's jaws on the floor after he joked that was just "one car crash away" from joining the ranks of the as . He aired the brutal joke about Mike, who is married to King Charles' niece Zara, at this year's Pub in the Park in London.

James and Mike are longstanding friends who present a podcast together - and their adventures recently saw James interview several members of the royal family at Windsor Castle. However, party-goers quipped that the pair might not be friends for much longer after he shared the controversial joke. The rugby ace began by joking that Chloe Madeley "wasn't quite the same thing" as being with a princess.

Then he had a change of heart and begged fans not to post his comments online, telling them: "Tind's doing pretty well for himself at the Royal Family at the moment.

"There's a couple that have left, Andrew and Harry, so there's a couple of spaces opening up on the roster and I think he's probably one big bus crash away from being King!"

James went on to tease that he had designs on marrying a Princess and becoming a royal himself, chuckling: "I've manifested it, I've journalled it, I've read The Secret!"

But he urged: "Please don't post anything online because I can't afford to get cancelled. I'm getting divorced and I need the cash!" James added that although being "outspoken" is becoming acceptable again these days, he didn't want to venture into "Piers Morgan territory".

However, former rugby ace James -who has made a name for himself in podcasting since retiring from sport at the age of 35 with a "wrecked body" - kept the quips coming.

James also joked that he'd had a less glamorous lifestyle than his co-star Mike. He told the crowd: "He went to Australia and came back with a World Cup winners' medal and a princess.

"I married Richard and Judy's daughter - it's a bit like Lambrini and day release, it's not the same thing!" When James travelled to the same part of the world with his rugby team, his experience was a very different one.

Recalling his time in New Zealand, he claimed that grooming was an "afterthought" for most of the hairy men he met, with some "growing tarantulas out of their noses."

He added that the "biggest mistake" of his life was a hunting trip there with someone who'd hit the headlines after a Greenpeace boat caught him shooting seals.

Cringing that he was "totally overdressed", he explained: "I went on what I thought was going to be an organised shoot with beaters involved.

"Instead, I was hanging off the back of a pickup truck at 60 miles an hour, holding a shotgun in one hand and a beer in the other - and if you dropped either one, you were immediately deported. It was carnage."