Kate Middleton and Prince William have been married for over ten years, with their three childr—
Honestly, who cares. You know this stuff. It was inevitable that The Crown would cover the kindling of their romance in its final season, with Kate (newcomer Meg Bellamy) and Wills meeting as art history students at St. Andrews and thinking randy thoughts with the help of Giotto slideshows. But lurking in their peripheral vision is Carole Middleton, Kate’s mother, who likes to remind her oldest child that it’s her “duty to make use of the assets God has given us.” (Giotto would probably agree with that one.) The Crown posits that Carole architected her daughter’s life in order to increase Kate’s chances of meeting and romancing Prince William, which included taking a gap year, enlisting in royal-favored international programs, and switching universities after Wills announced his decision. “Never underestimate yourself and never think there’s anything in this world you’re not good enough for,” she tells Kate. Did all this meddling actually happen? Maybe. Maybe not. But if it did, it’s a moot point.
The series finale concludes in 2004, but Bellamy — who got the call that would change her life while employed as a performer at England’s Legoland resort — says she would’ve welcomed a post-university Kate. “I think the show ended at the right time, but the royal wedding was so fascinating as an event,” she says. “To see what Kate must have been going through, with those nerves and that pressure and all those eyes on her, would’ve been an incredible thing to tap in to.”
Your eyeliner gave me PTSD for when I was still in school. How did it feel being poked on the eyelids every day in the makeup department?
Oh, you know, it was actually a lot. Especially when they go right into the eyeball. At the end of the day I got a hot towel, but it took a lot to soak it off. There are so many layers to the eyeliner. It’s thicker than you think. It was a prominent memory for me.
You had to go through many rounds of auditions to secure this role. When did you have the realization that it would happen?
When I got the call about an official read through, that’s when I thought to myself, Okay, this is more within reach than I thought. I had only done two or three rounds at that point and it had been about a month since I heard anything. I assumed I was among tens of thousands of girls and it’s not gone my way. But I got a phone call from someone in the casting team saying, “There’s a read through with the whole cast, crew, directors, and producers, and they want you there as Kate.” Apparently, I was in the final eight at that point, but they wanted me specifically for that day. I was like, What! A completely different phone call than what I was expecting. That’s when I thought it was my role to keep. When I got the role, I celebrated with Thai take-away and I watched Avatar. I was like, Films are magic!
The Crown isn’t a documentary, but it does pull from a lot of lore, including the theory that Carole Middleton had a master plan to orchestrate a relationship between William and Kate. You did a lot of research in preparation for this role. Do you think there’s any truth to that?
I don’t know in terms of reality. It’s all tabloid noise. But within the show, I really loved playing that dynamic. There are so many elements to it. It’s the coming-of-age time in Kate’s life where you’re starting to get a taste of independence, ideas, and people around you to make your own decisions. And then the clash that brings from a family perspective. They’re two very strong characters and Carole has an ambition for Kate and always had. She wants the best for her. That might manifest in being with someone whom Kate might not be ready to be with. That initial clash is something we can all connect to. When you start being on your own two feet, it’s a device that’s familiar to people.
Let’s say it’s not a coincidence and this woman spent years stealthily trying to get her daughter to marry into the royal family. Do you find it admirable or pathetic?
I don’t think she has as much power on Kate as people might think. Because if Carole did control a whole relationship and devise everything, then it wouldn’t be authentic. What I love about Kate and William’s relationship is that it seems so natural. They have things in common and they’re actually right for each other, no matter what people think. I find that to be a nice foundation.
In the scene between Kate and her mother after Kate brings her first university boyfriend over for a family dinner, they have an argument about what Kate wants out of life, and Kate herself doesn’t have an answer to the question. How did you interpret this scene?
I thought about this moment a lot. I don’t necessarily believe Kate wants this boyfriend forever and she doesn’t think this guy is “the one.” It’s more the idea that Carole doesn’t want this man in Kate’s life that’s the cause of frustration. She could’ve brought anyone home, but if it wasn’t William, Carole wouldn’t have approved. Kate just wants her mom to respect her. What I felt was a real key to her character, when I was doing all of my preparation, was hearing that Kate grew up with a lot of adults around. Carole apparently hosted dinner parties all the time. Kate always had friends and sleepovers. She had a big circle. It reflects how she is now, which is very easygoing and being able to talk to anybody. That makes sense to me. She’s never flustered. That was a great energy to tap in to. That’s the essence of Kate — self-assured.
A centerpiece of this season is Kate strutting down a runway in a sheer dress, which makes William fall even harder. It’s also one of the few moments from her university life that was documented in photos. How did having actual source material affect how you went into the scene?
It was different because it was the only scene that we could re-create. We have different elements of St. Andrews, like the foam parties, but this felt like the biggest re-creation. I was excited to be able to embody this iconic dress. But I was nervous. I knew there would be a lot of side-by-side comparisons. The actual day was so much fun and I have to imagine it had a similar vibe to the fashion show. People have friends in the audience and they’re partying. They look forward to it for a night out. It was choreographed in a way that was fun and mimicked that type of atmosphere. I must have walked down the catwalk a hundred times that day. But every single time the supporting actors were cheering and laughing and the music was blaring. It felt like I was doing it for the first time every time. The stakes were mirrored. I’m wearing a sheer dress, what’s going on?
How did wearing that dress make you feel?
Surreal. We layered different mesh to figure out what worked. Even on the filming day we were working out how tight the ribbon needed to be for me to still be able to walk. It felt like a true catwalk moment. A remixed version of Kylie Minogue’s “Can’t Get You Outta My Head” was playing when we filmed. That “la, la, la” was ingrained in everyone’s brains. It was a great party song.
Meghan Markle previously said that if The Crown includes her in the series, whoever portrays her should feel encouraged to give her a call. Did you ever attempt to get in touch with Kate?
No, I didn’t. But that’s nice of Meghan.
In the event that Kate enjoys Googling herself and ends up reading our interview, what would you like to tell her?
Oh my gosh. Hello, Kate. I don’t know how I’d feel if somebody was making a show about me. I hope I’ve done her justice. You have to have an empathy for your character. When you spend so much time researching someone, you feel like you have an idea of who that person is. I really respect her and I’m fond of her. I put that care into this role and I hope she can know that.
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