QUEEN - SOUTH PARK SHOWS QUEEN'S SUICIDE

SOUTH PARK SHOWS QUEEN'S SUICIDE

Matt Parker and Trey Stone have courted controversy once more with their South Park show after depicting the Queen committing suicide.

No strangers to taboo subjects, the makers of the popular satirical cartoon have lampooned celebrities including Steve Irwin, shortly after his death, and even sacrosanct figures such as the Virgin Mary and Prophet Muhammad.

In the latest episode, which parodies the spy show 24 featuring Kiefer Sutherland, the Queen is portrayed behind a plot to overthrow the US.

After taking a call which reveals her attempts to undermine the US have failed, the monarch puts a gun in her mouth and pulls the trigger, before slumping to the floor, spilling blue blood.

The same episode also features a plot by the UK to have presidential contender Hilary Clinton killed, as Russian mercenaries try to plant a nuclear device on her in an indecent fashion.

While the Clinton plot fails, the show has again inflamed critics, with the depiction of royal suicide sure to have tempers fraying in some quarters.

Previously South Park has satirised global figures including Saddam Hussein – shown as a friend and sexual partner of the devil in the film, South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut – and also made fun of actor Tom Cruise and his belief in Scientology.

Indeed, it was their ridicule of this organisation which prompted actor Isaac Hayes, the voice of Chef in the show, to quit saying no respect had been paid to his "personal spiritual beliefs".

Parker and Stone have previously spoken of their disdain for the boundaries of taste and decency from both liberal and conservative perspectives.