In March last year, Ed McVey and Meg Bellamy had the first taste of what it was like to walk in the shoes of Prince William and Kate Middleton. The two actors, then unknown, had been cast as the royal pair in Netflix blockbuster The Crown and as they filmed around St Andrews, the long lens snappers arrived.
“We were getting papped all the time,” McVey says. It became clear their lives were about to change.
As the photographs circulated news sites, and readers piled in with their verdict on the casting, Bellamy remembers learning some salutary lessons. “Everyone tells you ‘Don’t read the comments’, and you’re like, ‘Of course’,” she laughs. “And then you do, and you learn not to read the comments.”
Clearly the pair had an inkling of what was to come when their casting was first announced. “I went to the gym and my phone was literally like 'bzzzzz' across the floor,” McVey says.
“Yeah,” Bellamy adds, “I actually couldn’t get into my Instagram settings to turn notifications off because the notifications bar kept coming down and I kept trying to swipe it up, it was really stressful.”
For Luther Ford, who plays Prince Harry in the series, it came later, with Bellamy and McVey’s casting taking some of the heat off his announcement. “My brother’s girlfriend sent me the open casting call, it was on Twitter, Facebook – it was everywhere.”
The casting call, posted by casting associate Kate Bone, asked for “exceptional actors” with a “strong physical resemblance.” Ford was only certain of one of those things.
“I was in my last year studying film and I hadn't acted before, I hadn't trained. I didn't have an intention to act. But I thought I'll give it a go.” Between the open casting call and Ford’s lack of acting experience, he had little hope. Then, over three weeks, he was called back in again, and again, and again. “Then I got it, and it was pretty mind altering,” Ford says.
All three are too young to remember Princess Diana, the main focus of The Crown season six part one, as they were all born after her death in 1997. Their collective first main memory of the royals is William and Kate’s wedding, in 2011.
“My mum had a party for the wedding because she loves the royals,” says Bellamy, “I mean I was younger so I didn’t really care, but I remember being like ‘Tell me when they kiss!’ or if they did the vows, or when they were on the balcony, and we were just like… eating cake.”
From the bits Bellamy does remember, she recalls being “in awe” of Kate. “I remember not being able to fathom what Kate was going through and just being like – she looked amazing – but imagine [going through] that. Seeing her on the balcony, I was completely captivated by it at the time.”
According to a recent poll from YouGov, only 30 per cent of 18-24 year olds think the monarchy is "good for Britain", compared with 77 per cent of the over-65s. For Ford, Bellamy and McVey, the closeness to their characters was more important than any overarching feeling toward the Royal Family in an ideological sense – a subject they won't be drawn on.
“The information you acquire becomes more in-depth for you; I guess have a more informed opinion,” says Bellamy. Ford agrees: “I think you have to kind of find a part of yourself in them, it's quite important to generate a closeness.”
And with closeness, came fondness, especially for McVey, who wants to challenge the seemingly accepted view that Prince William is uptight. “I think people think he’s quite stiff, but he’s not,” McVey says. “He’s just really fun, I think he’s a loosey-goosey guy.”
Ford is less certain that he found a closeness with his characer. “I don't know, because I guess that would suggest that we actually know them, but we don’t."
Now the three of them have felt a touch of fame, though, perhaps it’s all a little more relatable. In the year since their casting was announced, the trio has entered an entirely new world, one where they’re invited to sit front row at London Fashion Week, where they're at parties with James McAvoy and Jennifer Lawrence, or where rumours about them becoming Dior ambassadors are plastered across the Daily Mail (untrue, sadly).
Has it all felt a bit unbelievable? “I didn’t think that would ever be part of my life,” McVey says. “I went through a phase when I thought, ‘This must be like kryptonite for an actor,’ because you’re so hyper-focused on yourself. But then you go through that barrier and it’s basically just playing dress up, you’re a character.”
They’ve been given advice by Emma Corrin, who felt the force of The Crown’s instant-fame three years ago, when they played a younger version of Princess Diana in season four.
“They’re lovely, but again with these things, it’s like, when you get asked ‘Are you ready for your lives to change?’, while you can use them [Corrin] as a template, there is no guidebook for it, it always varies from person to person.”
Bellamy agrees: “If I have a career like Emma Corrin, then…” “Happy days,” McVey finishes for her.
“Yeah I doubt I will,” Ford sheepishly adds, as the three descend into piss-taking and praise. Let’s hope the royal ascent for this talented trio is a smooth one.
