SNL UK mocks Ed Sheeran over Macklemore row in Charles and Diana sketch

It comes after all of the support acts for the singer’s current The Loop tour announced they were dropping out of the remaining dates after Macklemore, whose real name is Benjamin Haggerty, was removed from the line-up over comments he made about Gaza.

Sheeran played his first show since the row on Saturday, where he said he had questioned whether he “wanted to be an artist at all” following the spat.

The Sky show opened with a sketch about the King, played by Larry Dean, and an artificial intelligence (AI) robot of Diana, Princess of Wales which was played by Jack Shep, with the robot’s creators losing control of it, prompting Dean’s character to say “this was the problem last time”.

The King then says that the war between humans and robots has begun and that “we must do everything we can to resist”, before Ed Sheeran, played by Annabel Marlow, arrives and says “or maybe we shouldn’t”.

Dean then says: “Ed Sheeran, what in the devil are you doing here?”

To which Sheeran replied: “I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation, see I was just outside sitting on the fence.”

The King then asks for Sheeran’s help, to which he replies: “Thing is your majesty, I don’t like to take sides, I don’t like to alienate any of my fans, humans or robots, a lot of my tickets are bought by scalping bots.

“You know, sometimes when it comes to conflicts, the bravest thing you can do is to say nothing at all.”

He goes on to sing a song about how “both sides are equally right”.

The sketch came after Earl Spencer made a series of damning claims about the King in a new memoir chronicling the life of his sister Diana.

The show’s Weekend Update section also took aim at Sheeran, with Ania Magliano opening it by saying: “This week, the Israel/Palestine conflict just got serious, that’s right Ed Sheeran’s US tour is under threat.”

Ania Magliano and Paddy Young also took aim at Sheeran in the Weekend Update (Sky/Eva Pentel/Matt Crockett)

She then asked “will Sheeran have to cancel the tour?”, before adding “there’s a very real risk that he won’t”, and said the incident was “the worst thing to happen to Ed Sheeran fans, since their head injury”.

The comedian went on to describe Macklemore as a “good guy with bad music”.

Paddy Young added: “To his credit, Sheeran, seen here looking at both sides of the issue, has been a long-standing supporter of Ukraine.

“Say what you want about Ed, but he’s always been a passionate advocate of causes that are allowed.”

The section also took aim at Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft, who reportedly told Sheeran the shows at his venue would not go ahead if Macklemore remained on the tour.

Magliano said: “The 85-year-old, seen here picking a coffin, has released his own statement on the Israel/Palestine conflict saying quote, ‘our goal is to work together to build bridges’. Oh Robert, it’s going to break your heart when you find out who’s bombing those.”

SNL UK returns on September 26 at 10pm on Sky and the Now streaming service, when Amelia Dimoldenberg will host and Rachel Chinouriri will be the show’s musical guest.