A young actress has landed her first professional role playing Kate Middleton in the Netflix series The Crown.
Meg Bellamy, 19, a former head girl at St Crispin’s School in Wokingham, Berkshire, was chosen after submitting a self-recorded audition following a casting call posted on social media.
Also making their screen debuts will be 21-year-old Ed McVey and 16-year-old Rufus Kampa, who will play younger versions of the Duchess of Cambridge’s now-husband Prince William.
All three will appear in the show’s sixth and final series, which will begin filming later this year.
The Crown is a historical drama chronicling the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, with the sixth series expected to depict the years following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997.
Kampa will play Prince William in the immediate aftermath of his mother’s death, while McVey and Bellamy will play the Duke and Duchess during their time as students at the University of St Andrews, where they met in 2001.
Kate Middleton, pictured here in 2005, met Prince William at St Andrews University. Photo: David Cheskin/PA
Bellamy is understood to have won the role just months after leaving St Crispin’s, a comprehensive, and has no professional acting experience, the Daily Telegraph reported.
He reportedly received an A* in his A-level drama and starred in several school productions, and is also said to have worked as a performer at Legoland in nearby Windsor.
McVey graduated from the London Drama Center in 2021 and has worked as an understudy in the play Camp Siegfried at the Old Vic, but has yet to appear on screen.
Kampa has appeared in several stage productions, most recently as the title character in a musical version of The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 & 3/4s, and as the Artful Dodger in Oliver!
Other stars who have appeared on The Crown include Olivia Colman, who played the Queen; Matt Smith, who played Prince Philip; and Helena Bonham Carter, who played Princess Margaret.
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The fifth series, which premieres in November, will feature an all-new cast, with Imelda Staunton as the Queen, Jonathan Pryce as Prince Philip and Lesley Manville as Princess Margaret.
The series will also star Dominic West as Prince Charles and Elizabeth Debicki as Diana, Princess of Wales.
Asked about the show last year, Prince Harry described it as “fictional” but “loosely based on truth”.
“It gives you a rough idea of what that lifestyle is, the pressures of putting duty and service above family and everything else, what can come out of it,” he said.