The Crown season 5 on Netflix is in the early stages of casting a young star who will play a 13-year-old Prince William. Casting directors have reportedly started the search by putting ads at various schools across England.
According to reports, the casting notice is still in its early stages as filming of The Crown season 5 will not take place until the summer. The show will also look into adding a younger boy, who will play Prince Harry.
The Crown season 5 will cover the early 1990s, highlighting the troubled marriages of Queen Elizabeth's adult children, including Prince Charles and Princess Diana. If the show is casting a 13-year-old William then it would mean Diana's infamous Panorama interview could be one of the series' highlights.
William was reportedly in tears as he watched his mother in Panorama with Martin Bashir, as she told the world of her crumbling marriage to Charles and their affairs outside of their union. According to royal biographer Robert Lacey, William was at his boarding school at that time and was consoled by his housemaster Dr. Andrew Gailey. Harry, being younger, did not have an interest in watching the program.
Lacey said that Gailey found Prince William slumped on the sofa and on the verge of a breakdown after watching his mother's interview. Gailey called up Diana to explain to her son "face to face." The royal expert said that Diana had no foresight on how the interview could impact her boys.
At such a young age, William hated the idea of unloading family issues on television. He felt that his mother "made of fool of herself" and, in the process, also made a fool of him to his friends and classmates. For a brief moment, William was furious at Diana and could not be consoled by her when she did visit him at Eton.
Meanwhile, Variety reported that The Crown has had an increase in viewership on Netflix following Harry and Meghan Markle's interview with Oprah Winfrey. Renewed interest for the royal family drama, which debuted on the streaming platform in 2015, has also pushed the awards chances of its stars.
Harry said, in a separate interview with James Corden, that The Crown might not be "strictly accurate" but it gives the people a "rough idea" of the royal life. He said that he's more comfortable watching the show, a dramatized and fictionalized version of the royal family, than reading the lies about him and Markle that's written in the tabloids.
