David Bridges
Though we’re still pretty upset that there will only be one more instalment of The Crown left after Season 5 airs in Nov. 2022, casting announcements are always interesting to hear about. Especially when it comes to the actors taking on the more well-known members of the royal family. Now, he role of young Kate Middleton has been announced. Taking on the role in the celebrated Netflix series’ sixth season will be Meg Bellamy. Below is everything we know about Meg Bellamy so far.
According to the Daily Mail, Bellamy answered the open casting call for the role launched by the streaming giant in early 2022. The 19-year-old had just left school – she studied in Wokingham, not too far from the village where Kate lived with her family as a young girl – and had been head girl at St Crispin’s School. Though she starred in school productions, sung in the choir, and worked as a performer in Legoland (the Telegraph reported that she attained an A* in her Drama A-Level), this will mark Bellamy’s first acting job. And quite a major one.
Sharing her casting announcement, made via Deadline, Bellamy wrote: “Pinch me please.. So excited to announce that I will be playing Kate Middleton in Season 6 of Netflix’s The Crown. It is such an honour to be joining the most incredible cast and crew, and I will strive to do Kate justice.”
Season 6 of the semi-fictionalised show will cover the reign of Queen Elizabeth II up to the early 2000s, following young Prince William’s teenage years through to his time at University, where he met his now wife while the pair studied History of Art together (William later changed his degree to Geography, reportedly on Kate’s advice). Two young actors, Ed McVey and Rufus Kampa, have been confirmed to star as Prince William at different ages. Kampa will portray the young prince in the aftermath of his mother’s passing, while McVey will take over the role for the Prince’s later teenage and early adult years, performing opposite Bellamy.
Netflix has yet to confirm which moments from the Duke and Duchess’s relationship will be portrayed in the series, but given how little is known about the early days of William and Kate’s romance, the few moments that the press did manage to capture – including that charity fashion show when William reportedly began seeing Kate as “more than a friend” and their skiing trip to Klosters – are likely to feature.
To date, the Netflix series has launched the careers of several of Britain’s most respected young actors. Take Emma Corrin, who joined Peter Morgan’s series as Diana, Princess of Wales, fresh out of Cambridge University, for example. Between that and the The Crown creators’ comments about only including Middleton in the series if they could “find the right candidate”, there are high hopes for Bellamy’s performance indeed.
Troy Sanders
Ivy Caldwell
