The makers of the hit Netflix series 'The Crown' have revealed who is set to play Prince William and Kate Middleton in Season 6.
According to Variety, the young prince will be played by 16-year-old Rufus Kampa and 21-year-old Ed McVey, respectively. Meg Bellamy will portray Kate Middleton in the interim.
This November, "The Crown's" fifth season is slated to premiere. Imelda Staunton will play Queen Elizabeth, Jonathan Pryce will play Prince Philip, Lesley Manville will play Princess Margaret, Dominic West will play Prince Charles, Elizabeth Debicki will play Princess Diana, and Olivia Williams will play Camilla Parker Bowles in the brand-new production. John Major, the former British prime minister, will also make an appearance.
Additionally, Senan West, West's son, will portray a young Prince William (aged around 11). Will Powell and Teddy Hawley will each portray a young Prince Harry at various ages.
The casting indicates that Season 5 will centre on the 1990s, including events leading up to and possibly following Diana's death in 1997, although the show's creators are remaining as mum as ever regarding which moments in the lives of the British royal family they intend to revisit during the programme.
According to a Variety report from last year, Salim Daw ("Oslo") would play Mohamed Al-Fayed, the father of Dodi Al-Fayed. The latter died along with Diana in the Paris crash, while "The Kite Runner" actor Khalid Abdalla will portray Dodi Al-Fayed.
Season 6, which is scheduled to begin production this fall and focus on the late 1990s and early 2000s, is clearly in the cards given Kate's on-screen debut and the hiring of 16-year-old Kampa as a younger version of William. When his mother passed away in August 1997, Prince William was 15 years old.
He took a year off before attending St Andrew's University in Scotland in 2001 when he met Kate, another student. Before getting married in 2011, they continued their 10-year relationship.
For the royal family, the 1990s and the beginning of the 2000s were turbulent years. Following Diana's passing, the family's popularity fell to its lowest point ever and was shaken by various scandals. Prince Andrew was in the midst of his friendship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and was accused of abusing his accuser Virginia Guiffre multiple times; Prince Charles was attempting to repair his reputation while also integrating his former mistress, Camilla Parker-Bowles, into public life; and Princes William and Harry were notorious for stumbling out of nightclubs in the early hours of the morning, frequently surrounded by glamorous posh blondes.
Following Diana's passing, there were also various legal snags, including a high-profile criminal prosecution involving her former butler, Paul Burrell, who had been detained for allegedly stealing hundreds of things from the princess. Only when the Queen had a surprising "recollection" that she had actually given him permission to steal the artefacts did the case finally come to an end. The trial neatly fell apart as a result of the memory, allowing royal family members to avoid testifying in front of what was certain to be a media circus.
Kampa has a wealth of theatre experience, having performed in roles at the Waterloo East Theatre, Wycombe Swan, and more. She played the lead in Sue Townsend's "The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole 13 & 3/4s The Musical" on the West End. He will enrol in Tring Park School for Performing Arts in September, which boasts alumni like Daisy Ridley from Star Wars and Dame Julie Andrews.
McVey finished a four-year training course at the Drama Centre London last year and received her diploma. He has performed on stage at The Old Vic and Hammersmith Riverside Studios.
Despite some amateur acting and filmmaking, Bellamy is a complete rookie, and the high-profile series serves as her professional debut.
Following the submission of audition tapes in response to a social media casting request, Kampa and Bellamy were both chosen. The trio will make their official film debut in "The Crown."
All three of them will undoubtedly become stars as a result. Emma Corrin, who will next be seen in the upcoming movie "My Policeman" with Harry Styles, was propelled into the spotlight after she was chosen out of relative obscurity to play a young Princess Diana in Season 4. She had a very small number of on-screen credits at the time.
Similar to Josh O'Connor, who played Prince Charles in Seasons 3 and 4, the character likewise gained notoriety and earned an Emmy for best main actor in a drama series.
Every two seasons, the cast is switched up to reflect the royals in various eras.
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