She has enviable brunette hair, was born and raised in Berkshire and is passionate about the team sports of lacrosse, hockey, tennis and netball.
These facts alone make actress Meg Bellamy a fitting choice for the role of Kate Middleton in the upcoming series “The Crown.”
The highly anticipated final season of the Netflix drama premiered on Tuesday night and all eyes were on Meg and her co-stars as they made their red carpet debut in Los Angeles.
Stunning Meg appeared in a black silk dress with Stella McCartney jewels, while Ed McVey, who plays Prince William, opted for Valentino. Luther Ford – the young actor who plays Prince Harry – opted for an edgier look with a ruffled vest, baggy trousers and an earring.
The trio, who posed with Elizabeth Debicki, the actress who portrays Princess Diana, at the Westwood Regency Village Theater, are now on the verge of superstardom – and everything that comes with it.
Star: British actress Meg Bellamy arrives at the sixth season premiere of Netflix’s “The Crown” in Los Angeles
Co-stars: Dazzling Meg appeared in a black silk dress with Stella McCartney jewels, while Ed McVey (right), who plays Prince William, opted for Valentino
But we can reveal that in a life that truly imitates art, Meg has something else in common with the Princess of Wales. Before she even appeared on screen, 21-year-old Meg has become a fashion darling. She’s already made a deal that would be the envy of Kate’s nemesis Meghan Markle: she’ll become a face of French fashion house Dior, with all the perks that entails.
That’s not all: Cartier, Valentino and Jaguar are all deeply in love with Meg Bellamy. Further proof that her lifestyle has become worthy of a princess is the fact that she has been a guest at some of society’s most glamorous events. A Netflix insider tells me: “They were lining up for Meg, she’s playing the most famous woman in the world in a globally known TV drama, so many labels and brands want a piece of it.” She’s a complete unknown but she’s being treated like Kate, an A-list princess.
And it’s not just the privately educated Meg who was catapulted to stardom before she even hit our screens. The actors who will play William and Harry alongside them – McVey, 22, and Ford, 21 – will also be adorned with front rows, red carpets and freebies galore. In fact, the trio attended high-profile parties together, in what appeared to be an attempt to visually recreate the once-strong bond between their royal characters.
This is no coincidence, I can tell you that. Sources tell me that Netflix bosses have crafted what appears to be a carefully orchestrated, glitzy campaign for their new series – an attempt to package the sixth series as the Kate, Wills and Harry years and distract from the controversial recreation of Diana’s death .
They were so keen to shift the focus of the sixth and final season of the royal drama – which will feature the death of Princess Diana in Paris in 1997 and end in the early 2000s, when Kate and William began their romance – that the Executives at the streaming giant have decided to make the trio more famous off-screen too.
Meg has already made a deal that would be the envy of Kate’s nemesis Meghan Markle: she will become a face of the French fashion house Dior, with all the benefits that entails
Talent: The actors are now on the verge of superstardom – and everything that goes with it
A source close to the show said bosses were all too aware that the days when William, Kate and Harry regularly joked affectionately with each other in public were popular with fans of the royal family – and therefore not just for viewers of ” “The Crown” could be a lucrative win, but for big brands.
The source said: “It’s a period that British audiences loved to see, the three of them looked so close and so happy.” Kate had such a beautiful bond with Harry and they were considered the future of the royal family.
“And it’s not just Netflix making the most of these happy and popular times, but also the fashion world.”
Because if you can’t get the real Kate to model, her lookalike from one of the biggest TV shows in the world is the next best thing.
And so in July, Meg Bellamy was given a prestigious front row seat at Dior’s couture show, where she was treated by Dior executives as if she were truly a queen.
Her work is believed to have already earned her hundreds of thousands of pounds. The fact that the “fake Kate” has developed such close ties to Dior is likely to be annoying for the real Meghan, who was not signed on as an ambassador for the label earlier this year, even though both sides supposedly wanted to work together.
Meg – an unknown who won her role after sending a video casting to Netflix – was also lured by Cartier and regularly posts about the brand. Valentino also wants to work with her, and she has also worked with luxury car brand Jaguar. Add to that the fact that she was recently dressed by Prada for a magazine interview while wearing Gucci for another advertising campaign – all documented on her Instagram account – and you can see just how impressive her rise to the top is.
Luther Ford (right) – the young actor who plays Prince Harry – opted for an edgier look in a ruffled vest, baggy trousers and an earring
Quite an achievement for someone who has no acting training or experience apart from a few theater productions at her former £10,000-a-year St Crispin’s School in Wokingham.
Royal connections are also evident in her social life: Vanity Fair magazine invited her to be their VIP guest at the Chelsea Flower Show in May. And Meg was guest of honor at the BAFTA Awards earlier this year, of which the Prince of Wales is patron.
However, Meg is humble about the perks she was showered with, saying: “I didn’t even expect the fashion side of it.” When I got this role, I thought it meant I would be doing a lot of research and filming. I definitely hadn’t even thought about collaborating with these amazing brands.”
But those brands certainly had plans to work with her — and her male Crown co-stars. Dior, Valentino and Armani eagerly dressed McVey and Ford, and Hermes invited the two to Paris Fashion Week.
Ford, on the other hand, was lured by Peugeot cars and wore Dior last month when he attended an event for the car brand and GQ magazine.
An insider said: “Ed will be a big star once The Crown gets going, although it’s really the first time actors like this have been given such profile by labels before they’ve even been seen on TV.”
In fact, the social media experts at these labels have undoubtedly found a winning strategy.
Meg and Ed each have around 9,000 followers on Instagram and Luther has 1,400. When The Crown opens this Wednesday, that number is expected to rise dramatically, and interest in the trifecta will mean these fashion labels will potentially be seen by millions. Meg in particular will undoubtedly become an overnight star.
Last year she filmed scenes with Ed, showing how William and Kate’s relationship blossomed after they met at St Andrew’s University.
A similar youthful excitement prevailed when Meg, McVey and Ford were seen promoting Cartier’s high-end jewelry at the Goodwood Festival for Speed in July. Meg captioned the picture on her Instagram, “Old Chums” and McVey shared the same picture and wrote, “More time with these two” and completed it with a red heart emoji.
A source tells me: “It hasn’t gone unnoticed that the three of them are out together and sharing their friendship on social media.”
“It’s really like the true story when Harry spent time with Kate and William in the days before he met Meghan.” It’s definitely clever PR. As the once close-knit young royals are recreated by their photogenic doppelgangers, the princess’s death won’t be the only thing viewers of the show will be talking about.