Netflix has started teasing the sixth and final season of The Crown with the first look at the actors playing a young Prince William and Kate Middleton.
The new images feature a photo of a loved-up, fictionalized Prince William and Middleton holding hands at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, where the real-life couple first began their romance.
Two close-up images of the actors in costume were also released. Middleton, who is appearing as a character for the first time in The Crown, will be played by Meg Bellamy.
Meg Bellamy as a young Kate Middleton in Season 6 of ‘The Crown.’.
Netflix
Prince William will be played by newcomer Ed McVey, who was photographed in what appears to be a lavish-looking living room in one of the royal abodes.
Ed McVey as a university-aged Prince William in ‘The Crown.’.
Netflix
Netflix even included a cheeky behind-the-scenes snap of the actors posing outside the famous Northpoint Cafe where Middleton and Prince William met in 2001.
Ed McVey and Meg Bellamy stand outside the Northpoint Cafe where Prince Harry and Kate Middleton met.
Netflix
Buzz about the casting for Prince William and Middleton has been circling online for many weeks now, beginning when the actors were first seen filming on location at the University of St Andrews. Many social media users shared footage of the production online.
The Crown follows the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II, who died in September 2022 at the age of 96, having served 70 years on the throne. The new season, which is quickly creeping up on the era of the modern-day monarchy, will in part follow Prince William as he attempts to blend in at university — and begin a romance with his one-day-wife, Middleton.
The Crown, especially in recent years, isn’t without its critics. As the dramatized royal story pushes closer and closer to modern times, some have complained the production is too sensationalized.
In an open letter to The Times UK last year, Oscar-winning actor Judi Dench wrote that The Crown presents “an inaccurate and hurtful account of history.”
“Indeed, the closer the drama comes to our present times, the more freely it seems willing to blur the lines between historical accuracy and crude sensationalism,” wrote Dench.
She worried audiences, particularly overseas, may take The Crown as truth.
At the time, Netflix responded and claimed The Crown “is a fictional dramatisation, imagining what could have happened behind closed doors during a significant decade for the Royal Family – one that has already been scrutinised and well-documented by journalists, biographers and historians.”
The Crown will air on Netflix later this year.
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