I Talked to Will and Kate...!
From ‘The Crown,’ for a ‘Town & Country’ cover story.
Welcome to Crown week Part 2 here at So Many Thoughts! I can’t believe the remaining six episodes of the final season are just a few days away, arriving on Netflix Dec. 14. I have loads of coverage planned here on Substack, including my SMT x The Crown podcast exclusively for paid subscribers. This has been such fun, reacting, reflecting, and fact-checking each episode — I love this new way to talk through all of The Crown’s choices with you. If you’ve been curious, here’s a little nudge in the form of a special Crown discount (this week only!). Join us, won’t you?
To kick things off, I wanted to share my digital cover story for Town & Country with Ed McVey and Meg Bellamy, the actors who play Will and Kate. I love how The Crown plucks people from the most unexpected places (Bellamy was working at Legoland as a red brick) and puts them on these elaborate sets (McVey told me they hired a choir for some of his scenes because the girls could scream louder and longer). Watching these two newcomers interact, first on the red carpet at the premiere in Los Angeles and later for our interviews, was such a trip, too.
But mostly, writing this story gave me the chance to really think through Crown creator Peter Morgan’s portrayal of this very familiar, but famously reserved couple. The series comes to a close at a not particularly exciting stretch in royal history, with an aging queen mourning the deaths of her sister and mother. It’s on Will and Kate to bring the romance and the drama. How do Bellamy and McVey make the story of their courtship — one we all know the ending to — the least bit tantalizing?
Click to read: The Crown’s Final Chapter: Will, Kate, and the Fate of the Firm
“It would have been cheesy if it was just really easy. It’s exciting to play with the tensions.” — Meg Bellamy
This was my third Crown cover for Town & Country — how illuminating it has been to write these pieces! The casting department’s superpower is finding people who not only look like the real royal they are portraying but embody them, too. The research department also preps them with all kinds of background information for these imagined depictions. At each of my interviews, I have been amazed at how the actors speak about their characters with such empathy and interest. Below, for your Crown prep pleasure, are my earlier pieces.
First up, my 2020 chats with Josh O’Connor, Emma Corrin and Emerald Fennell, who play Charles, Diana, and Camilla, respectively, in Season 4. These three made me appreciate what Morgan and the team at The Crown have created in a new way —to begin to really consider the choices made in these portrayals. In Morgan’s retelling, this well-known love triangle doesn’t have an obvious villain or victim; it’s a much more nuanced portrait of three hurt, trapped people.
Click to read: Charles. Di. Camilla: The Twists and Turns Inside The Crown
“The coldness, the traditions, and the expectations of behavior…I don’t think she expected that. I think she expected to join a family.” — Emma Corrin
My 2022 conversation with Dominic West, who plays Charles in Seasons 5 and 6, came jut after the death of Queen Elizabeth II. At the time, criticism of The Crown was off the charts. So much pearl-clutching about these depictions and the alleged harm they caused the Windsors! My takeaway after chatting with West was that the new king was exceedingly lucky to have West in the role (which we have seen in this season, too).
Click to read: Charles in Charge: Dominic West, The King of The Crown
“This is a man, in the prime of his life, who cannot and has not been able to fulfill his destiny. This is a man who, in his late forties, still has to obey his mother, not just as his mother but as his sovereign, queen, his boss.” — Dominic West
Many, many thanks to Adam Rathe, Stellene Volandes, and the entire Town & Country team for these assignments.
Stay tuned! My first Crown podcast on Part 2, a look at what historical events we might see in these episodes, drops tomorrow.
👑 ICYMI, you can find all of my earlier Crown posts here, including the podcast (tap below and swipe for a preview). I hope you’ll join me for Part 2. x
PS: New subscribers, click here for 20% off your annual subscription.
Really loved reading your article. Can’t wait for more podcasts tomorrow!
I have to say, I'm a bit tired of all the 'head down, eyes looking up' school of acting from Elizaberh Debicki and Ed McVey. There are plenty of pictures where they raised their heads, lol. IMO, it's used as shorthand to signify that they were uncomfortable with being in public. We get it!