Crowning Glory
Apr. 7 2021, Published 1:50 p.m. ET
Talking of William, The Crown, the Netflix hit chronicling the Queen’s reign, is looking for a pre-teen sandy-haired white boy to play him in the fifth series.
It’s the acting opportunity of a lifetime.
Calls have gone out to hundreds of schools and drama clubs in the U.K., but anyone can apply as long as you can produce an English accent!
Casting director Nina Gold is looking at youngsters ages 9 to 13 to play William, while a search for Harry will come later in the year.
Filming, which begins in the summer, will cover the turbulent 1990s, including the Queen’s “annus horribilis” of 1992, which saw Charles and Diana and Andy and Fergie separate, Princess Anne divorce and Windsor Castle catch fire.
They haven't yet decided whether to include Diana’s 1997 death in seasons five or six.
William and Harry were 15 and 12 when they walked behind her coffin at that never to be forgotten funeral, so older actors might be needed.
As the marriage of the Prince and Princess of Wales disintegrated, William was caught in the middle and famously pushed a paper hanky under a bedroom door for his crying mum Diana to use.
After they separated, Charles and Diana vied for their children’s affections with exotic holidays, gifts and day trips, while knocking six bells out of each other through books, leaked newspaper stories and TV interviews.
The Crown is sometimes accused of making it up, but the truth was so extraordinary, why alter the facts?
Season five has a new look cast with Imelda Staunton, 65, taking over from Oscar-winning Olivia Colman, 47, as the Queen, while Aussie Elizabeth Debicki will replace Emma Corrin as Diana.
Dialect coach William Conacher is waiting in the wings to make sure the young William’s posh accent is up to scratch.
