The sixth and final season of the hotly debated Netflix series “The Crown” is currently being filmed in Scotland. A fateful encounter was being reconstructed there, as shown by pictures from the set at the University of St. Andrews. In 2001, Prince William (40) and the then bourgeois Kate Middleton (41) met in that very place and later fell in love. Actor Ed McVey and actress Meg Bellamy have now recreated the beginnings of royal love for “The Crown”.
The recordings show what the Netflix series has always been known for: Once again, both stars come very close to their roles visually. Above all, McVey’s look when he admires Bellamy passing him closely resembles the prince’s facial expressions. Both McVey and Bellamy are newcomers to the acting scene, and their roles in The Crown represent their career highs to date.
It has been known since September last year that the two actors will play the royal couple. In addition, at the beginning of the season, which deals with the time immediately after the tragic death of Princess Diana (1961-1997), the teenager Rufus Kampa will play a young version of William.
Ten years after they first met in 2001, William and Kate’s wedding bells rang, and they now have three children together, George (9), Charlotte (7) and Louis (4).
“The Crown” is often the subject of heated debate. A controversy erupted last year when prominent figures criticized the portrayal of the characters in the previous season and called for a disclaimer to clarify that the series is fictional. Actress Dame Judi Dench (88) wrote at the time that Netflix “seems ready to blur the lines between historical accuracy and gross sensationalism”. She said there was a risk that “a significant number of viewers” would take the drama series as historical fact.
Helena Bonham Carter, who herself was part of “The Crown” and played Princess Margaret (1930-2002), complained that the series had come too close to the present: “I play and I loved my episodes, but it is very different now. When ‘The Crown’ began it was historical drama, and now it’s plunged into the present.”
