The hit Netflix series The Crown found actors to play Prince William and Kate Middleton in Season Six, which is set to go into production this Fall. Rufus Kampa and Ed McVey will be playing the young prince while Meg Bellamy has been cast to play his future wife.
Given the casting of 16-year-old Kampa and 21-year-old McVey as the prince along with Kate’s on-screen debut, fans can predict the sixth season of The Crown will be focusing on the late 1990s and early 2000s, a tumultuous time for the royal family. The popular historical-drama marks all three actors’ professional screen debuts, per Variety. The announcement comes as Season 5 of The Crown is scheduled to hit screens this November. The fifth season of the show features an all-new cast including Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth, Jonathan Pryce as Prince Philip, Lesley Manville as Princess Margaret, and Olivia Williams as Camilla Parker Bowles. Jonny Lee Miller is also set to appear as Prime Minister John Major in the upcoming season.
Season 5 of the award-winning series will give its audience a glimpse at the breakdown of Princess Diana and Prince Charles’ marriage as well as her tragic death in 1997 during the John Major’s years in government. The Kite Runner star Khalid Abdalla is also joining the cast for the upcoming season to portray Dodi Al-Fayed, Diana’s lover who died alongside her in the infamous Paris crash. The Australian actress Elizabeth Debicki is also taking over the role of the Princess of Wales from Emma Corrin who portrayed the Princess in Season 4 of The Crown. Season 5 will also feature Senan West – the son of Dominic West who is playing Prince Charles – as a young Prince William around the age of 11. The Egyptian star Amir El-Masry will also be playing Dodi’s father, the young department store billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed.
Although it’s his first professional screen debut, Kampa has an impressive background of on-stage experience. He played the lead in Sue Townsend’s The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole 13 & 3/4s The Musical on the West End and he also took on roles in the Waterloo East Theatre and Wycombe Swan, among others. He is also enrolled in Tring Park School for Performing Arts – which includes Star Wars’ Daisy Ridley and Dame Julie Andrews among its former pupils.
On the other hand, McVey graduated from Drama Centre London last year after completing a four-year training program. He most recently appeared on stage at The Old Vic as well as the Hammersmith Riverside Studios. Bellamy is a complete newcomer, although she has done some amateur theater and films, with the high-profile series marking her professional debut. Both Kampa and Bellamy were selected after submitting audition tapes following a social media casting call.