Nov 19, 2009, 11:12 GMT
Ben Elton has apologised to Britain's Queen Elizabeth II after calling her "a sad little old lady".
The 50-year-old comedian claims his foul-mouthed tirade about the British royal family - which also included calling Prince Philip "a mad old bigot" - was taken out of context, despite them being part of Australia's 'Good News Week's life show.
His spokesperson said: "Ben Elton apologises for any offence which may have been caused. The quotes attributed to him have been taken entirely out of context.
"He was making a joke about Australian republicanism, pointing out on a comedy show that the Queen and her family were far more reflective of the modern rainbow population they represented than any other."
He then claimed in the first half of the 'routine' Elton had declared his affection for the monarchy.
Elton -who was given the word 'Queen' in a word-association game - said: "She's a sad little old lady who lives in state-sponsored accommodation.
"Her husband is a mad old bigot who wishes it was still the war, three out of four of her kids' marriages have failed - that's very common. The eldest one is a disillusioned ¬ex-hippy, the middle one a bit of a yob."
He went on to make a crude aside to Prince Edward's sexuality before adding: "That's a bog-standard British family in all its rainbow glory.
"If she had a black one and a disabled one she'd have the full deck."
Your Talkback on this Story