Every Actor And Actress Who Has Portrayed Prince William And Kate Middleton On Screen

We all love a good fairytale narrative: The ordinary girl finds her Prince or Princess Charming, gets whisked off her feet, and the couple lives happily ever after. For Princess Catherine, though, that narrative was no fairytale dream. 

When the art history student fell in love with Prince William at the prestigious St. Andrew's University in 2001, middle-class Kate Middleton entered the highest echelons of the British aristocracy. After tying the knot with William a decade later, the humble Berkshire girl who survived bullying and media mockery became a beloved national treasure. Though their marriage has seen its ups and downs, while the popularity of the monarchy itself has ebbed and flowed, William and Kate remain emblems of British social prestige and aspiration.

Considering the media interest their relationship has generated, it comes as little surprise that the royal couple's courtship has been dramatized on our screens on many occasions, in everything from lighthearted romantic dramedies to satirical farce. The most recent fictionalized account of William and Kate comes with the final season of "The Crown," in which the royal couple is depicted by two little-known newcomers (but more on them later).

As we bid adieu to "The Crown," let's take a look at the many actors who have portrayed Prince William and Kate Middleton on screen.

To coincide with the highly publicized royal wedding, Lifetime released "William & Kate: The Movie" in April 2011. The film explores the couple's university days and early courtship, as well as the class differences that initially blighted their romance. Princess Catherine was portrayed by Camilla Luddington, who, like the princess, grew up in Berkshire. "I actually found the script really charming and appealing," she told the BBC. "I thought it was a fantastic opportunity and I thought: 'The wedding is coming up so it's going to be an iconic week.'"

In the UK, the TV movie was panned by critics. The Guardian questioned Luddington's legitimacy as an actor (she had previously played an underage drunk driver on "CSI") and her mid-Atlantic accent. However, during an appearance on "Conan," Luddington defended the project and theorized that the backlash was attributable to Brits not understanding the formula of Lifetime movies, seeing as there's no UK equivalent. "They don't understand that Lifetime movies are cheesy, and guilty pleasure ... In England, I knew I was screwed with the reviews before it even came out," she explained, "because they were comparing it to the next 'King's Speech.'" Her parents also struggled to comprehend the movie and delighted in sending her bad reviews.

Since playing Princess Catherine, Luddington has voiced Lara Croft in the "Tomb Raider" video game series and stars in "Grey's Anatomy" as Dr. Jo Wilson.

Starring alongside Camilla Luddington in "William & Kate: The Movie" was Nico Evers-Swindell. The little-known New Zealand actor portrayed a 20-something Prince William as he courted Kate Middleton and fell head over heels in love after seeing her sport a risqué dress at a college fashion show ("She's hot," exclaims the young prince in the movie).

Evers-Swindell's performance was savaged by critics, with many lamenting his apparently wooden performance. But in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter at the time, the actor said that he was avoiding reviews entirely to protect his peace. He also expressed his confusion over the ridicule, noting that Lifetime flicks are supposed to be lighthearted fun as opposed to high art. "I don't know [what] anyone could have expected in 30 days of development, from a network that's known for romance," he remarked. "It was always intended to be a fun ride, a light romance, a love story at the heart, and just a jolly good time."

Following his panned performance as William, Evers-Swindell has had minor appearances in acclaimed shows such as "American Horror Story," "Veep," and "American Crime Story."

Soon after the release of "William & Kate: The Movie," Hallmark debuted their own TV flick about Prince William and Princess Catherine, "William and Catherine: A Royal Romance." Catherine was portrayed by then up-and-coming British actor Alice St. Clair, who is herself of an aristocratic background (her father is the seventh Earl of Rosslyn and she in turn goes by the title of "Lady").

In "A Royal Romance," Catherine is depicted as having a schoolgirl crush on Prince William. Speaking to Backstage, St. Clair said that she sought to portray the Princess of Wales as an ordinary girl thrust into extraordinary circumstances, which is why she believes she was picked for the role. "I tried to think of her not as Kate, just this girl falling in love," she explained. "I later found out from Linda [Yellen] that what I did which the other girls didn't was [play] the younger Kate, the youthfulness, the sort of innocence. The other girls might have suited the later Kate."

In addition to playing the princess, St. Clair has appeared in the BBC period drama "The Crimson Field." These days, St. Clair, who largely lives out of the limelight and hasn't acted in years, is keeping busy as the assistant director of The London Original Print Fair.

Dan Amboyer played Prince William alongside Alice St. Clair's Kate Middleton in "William and Catherine: A Royal Romance." Unlike the regal William, Amboyer is from Michigan. "I'm from Detroit, so not exactly Buckingham Palace," he joked to The Hollywood Reporter. Reflecting on the filmmaking experience, he suggested that it was to the actors' benefit that this second incarnation of William and Catherine TV movies was released after the royal wedding. As such, he was able to study William's myriad public appearances for the role. "The benefit of doing it after [the] wedding was that we got to see so much of the programming that was out prior to the wedding," he explained. "So, there were so many documentaries and so many things to watch. So, I had an opportunity to learn a bit about him before taking it on."

Much like "William & Kate: The Movie," "A Royal Romance" was heavily panned. The Chicago Tribune argued that Amboyer was too bland to authentically portray the popular prince. Nevertheless, he has had a moderately successful career since he affected an English accent for Hallmark. The actor has appeared in "Sex and the City" creator Darren Star's series "Younger," "Uncoupled" opposite Neil Patrick Harris, and the "Dynasty" reboot.

Since Prince William and Kate Middleton's romance was dramatized in two separate TV movies, it was only fair that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were awarded the same treatment. Lifetime released "Harry & Meghan: A Royal Romance" in 2018. Like Lifetime's "William & Kate: The Movie" in 2011, its release coincided with the royal wedding.

Little-known Canadian actor Laura Mitchell portrayed Princess Catherine. Mitchell told Indie Activity that she was thrilled to portray the then-duchess, which she deemed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. What's more, in a chat with Town and Country, she confessed that, despite growing up in Canada, she has quite a bit in common with Catherine. "When I was younger, I was obsessed with Prince William," she dished. "I had pictures of him on my walls. I thought he was just the most handsome. I had Bop magazine, where you'd have Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Prince William, so I definitely watched the royals back then."

Harry and Meghan's TV movie treatment received far more favorable reviews than its William and Kate predecessor. CNN pinpointed a catty line from Mitchell's Catherine as one of the flick's highlights: "[Meghan] makes Wallis Simpson look like Dame Judi Dench." Mitchell reprised her role as Catherine in "Harry & Meghan: Escaping the Palace" in 2021. Away from showcasing her royal acting chops, she has featured in a succession of family-friendly TV movies.

Australian actor Burgess Abernethy played Prince William in "Harry & Meghan: A Royal Romance." The up-and-coming actor appeared to relish his role, posting a snap on Instagram of the cast and crew celebrating his birthday on set. "I got treated like the future King of England yesterday," he quipped.

But critics didn't exactly think that the Aussie was the right person to play William, with some noting that Abernethy looks nothing like the prince and others arguing that he wasn't attractive enough to portray him. Ouch. However, chatting to TMZ, Abernethy conceded that while he may not look much like William — save for a bald spot — his British accent was spot on. "Look, I know I'm not a dead ringer for him, that's for sure," he mused. "I hope that I embody his spirit and try to portray his journey as best that I could. Again, the accent was another big transformational part ... It was my version of Prince William."

Unlike Laura Mitchell, Abernethy did not reprise his role for "Harry & Meghan: Escaping the Palace." This time around, William was played by Jordan Whalen, who, in contrast to his Aussie predecessor, has said that people often remark on his resemblance to the Prince of Wales. As for Abernethy, he's been busy working in his native Australia.

As any fan of "South Park" knows, celeb impersonations aren't exactly series creator Trey Parker's forte, with guest stars usually enunciating in varying comical iterations of Parker's own accent. In the "South Park" universe, Prince William and Princess Catherine are reimagined as the bobble-headed Prince and Princess of Canada. They first appeared in the Season 15 episode "Royal Pudding," in which Parker voiced Catherine — or "the Princess of Canada" — as she's imprisoned in a cube and kidnapped by Tooth Decay. The episode, which came out in 2011, was a parody of the publicity surrounding the royal wedding.

Parker then voiced Prince William, aka the Prince of Canada, in the Season 18 episode "Freemium Isn't Free." The episode, which aired in 2014, sees the prince shadily catalyzing a gaming addiction epidemic aimed at advancing Canadian infrastructure. Again, Parker adopts a comically high-pitched cadence to voice the prince (as he does with all Canadian characters).

Though Parker and co-creator Matt Stone later received considerable attention for their parodies of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who were portrayed as media-hungry attention seekers in Season 26's "The Worldwide Privacy Tour," it's been said that their depiction of William and Catherine was far more unforgiving. Indeed, "Royal Pudding" actually shows William ripping off his bride's arms in line with the irreverent show's exaggerated mockery of royal protocol.

While "The Crown" offers viewers a glimpse into refined pomp and pageantry, the British satirical comedy series "The Windsors" portrays the royal family as inept — albeit harmless — buffoons. Hugh Skinner plays a foppish caricature of Prince William: kind, a bit dim (though not as witless as Prince Harry, who is depicted as a perpetual manchild ... or should that be manbaby?), but otherwise well-intentioned. This particular incarnation of William is also blessed with a full head of hair and an exaggeratedly posh accent in contrast to William's IRL attempts to sound more common.

The show sees William getting embroiled in all manner of mishaps, including unwittingly introducing a referendum on whether the monarchy should be abolished, à la Brexit, smooching former Prime Minister Theresa May, and attempting a bit of DIY in order to affirm his machismo.

Chatting to Channel 4, Skinner acknowledged the potential backlash that would come from poking fun at a much-loved figure like William but highlighted that the prince is portrayed as the hero of the otherwise dysfunctional Windsor clan. "I play William as a sort of child's view of what a prince should be — heroic and charming," he said. "He's the hero of the story, incredibly good and noble, so I've sort of played it as a bad imitation of a good leading actor, doing 'very important' acting." Aside from "The Windsors," Skinner has had roles in "Fleabag" and "The Witcher," and also had a fleeting part in 2012's "Les Misérables."

While Hugh Skinner's Prince William sees himself as a savior of the British public — always keen on concocting a ridiculous plan to show his solidarity with the common people — Louise Ford's Princess Catherine is one of the common people. Well, at least according to the alternate universe of "The Windsors." Whereas the titular family of the satire is portrayed as hapless and painfully naïve, Catherine is astute and dignified, attributable to her impoverished background. Subsequently, she's also shown to have street smarts and on one occasion opts to sell used refrigerators as a side hustle; oh, and she also has killer DJ skills.

It's perhaps fitting that Ford plays a comically rough and ready version of the princess, considering that she was once strongly opposed to the institution of the monarchy. "When William and Kate got married I went on holiday to Dorset because I didn't want to be in London for it," she told the Evening Standard. "I walked into a café and people were watching it on television and I remember walking out. I don't care for the pomp and ceremony."

Aside from playing Catherine, Ford has enjoyed a lengthy stage career and has appeared at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival alongside comedy partner Cariad Lloyd. She is also the long-term partner of Rowan Atkinson, aka Mr. Bean, for whom she apparently dumped her boyfriend in a plot that admittedly seems pulled straight from a "Windsors" teleplay. 

The 2017 BBC TV movie "King Charles III" envisioned Britain following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Prince William was portrayed by theater actor Oliver Chris, reprising the role following his performance in the original stage production. The drama was highly controversial, with viewers calling out scenes that depicted the ghost of Princess Diana haunting the royal family. The film also alluded to persistent rumors that Prince Harry may not be King Charles' son.

In an interview with the BBC, Chris defended the film and argued that the Diana fantasy scenes had been depicted tastefully. "I understand how people might find that difficult to watch," he said. "I personally felt that what we see in 'King Charles III' is this really extraordinary, intelligent addition to the debate about our monarchy ... I would like to think that certainly if William saw my portrayal he would see that it's done with an awful lot of respect and admiration."

In a glowing review, The Guardian praised Chris for making some otherwise farfetched plot points (William stages a rebellion against his power-hungry father) thoroughly convincing. Chris continued taking royal roles, though this time playing the erstwhile Prince Charles in a TV adaptation of Sue Townsend's play, "The Queen and I." Again, the production imagined an alternate reality for the royals, with a referendum on the monarchy resulting in the queen being ousted from Buckingham Palace and living in substandard public housing.

Whereas most of the productions in this rundown have depicted Princess Catherine in a generally positive — even venerated — light (re-selling used refrigerators in "The Windsors" aside), the Catherine of "King Charles III" is far less saccharine. Charlotte Riley played a manipulative and headstrong version of the princess, who orders Prince William to take action when his father destabilizes the monarchy. 

The actor thoroughly relished the role. "I wanted to find any glimpses of her being candid," she told The Telegraph. "We still don't know much about Kate behind the curtain, and that's something the program imagines. Like the smoking. Wouldn't it be great if she had a sly [cigarette] every now and again?"

Outside of acting, Riley has ties to the royal family. In 2018, she attended Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding at Windsor Castle, as her husband, fellow actor Tom Hardy, is close pals with Harry and a Prince's Trust ambassador. Discussing the surreal moment with Harper's Bazaar, Riley joked that she'd totally forgotten that she played the groom's sister-in-law on screen the previous year. "I didn't get to meet Kate on the day — it didn't really cross my mind that I've played her," she remarked. "I was fielding text messages from friends who didn't know that I was going — I just forgot to mention it to friends and family, so that was quite good fun!"

Unlike many of the other films and TV shows mentioned here, Pablo Larraín's 2021 film "Spencer" depicted the less palatable side of royal life. Princess Diana (played by Kristen Stewart) is shown struggling with mental illness and turning to her eldest son in her darkest moments. Newcomer Jack Nielen, aged 12 at the time, played Prince William and bears a striking resemblance to the young royal.

On Instagram, Nielen posted some behind-the-scenes shots with his co-stars. In one such post, he shared a candid of himself and his onscreen mom, Stewart, goofing off in an outtake, writing, "So. Much. Fun!" In a cast interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Nielen revealed that some of the scenes between Diana and her sons were improvised, which enabled him to bond with Stewart. The youngster also admitted to feeling rather distressed over the darker scenes between himself and Stewart, due to the raw vulnerability of her performance. "The most emotionally challenging scene was the bathroom scene with me and Kristen," he explained, "because the way Kristen approached that scene made it feel very real and actually made it feel like a real crisis. It's like seeing a friend in distress ... [that] really brought the moment that William realizes that his mother isn't OK."

"Spencer" is the teenager's only on-screen acting credit to date. According to his Instagram page, he is still an actor, and he often shares lifestyle snaps with his 10K followers.

After entertaining royal enthusiasts and curious republicans for seven years, "The Crown" is coming to an end in 2023. In the sixth and final season, we get to see the early courtship of Princess Catherine and Prince William. The princess is played by newcomer Meg Bellamy, who looks startlingly similar to a young Kate Middleton.

Bellamy conceded to Harper's Bazaar that becoming part of "The Crown" team was a surreal experience, and she felt overwhelmed when attending her first red carpet event in Los Angeles to promote the Netflix series. The gig is Bellamy's first major acting role; her only other appearance was in the 2021 short film "The Prince of Savile Row."

In an interview with The Telegraph, she revealed that she was an ordinary girl working in Legoland when a friend, who noted her resemblance to Catherine, encouraged her to reply to a casting call for "The Crown." "Speaking to you now, before The Crown has come out, I can still walk around and no one knows who I am," she reflected. "But I think the biggest time I noticed that was when we filmed in St. Andrews; that was pretty intense. It's a small place, and we were the talk of the town." 

Bellamy may be unknown for now, but, like seasoned stars of "The Crown," she will no doubt become a household name once her story arc is released in December 2023.

The final season of "The Crown" features two different actors playing Prince William. Rufus Kampa, who was 16 at the time of filming, plays the teen William following his mom's death. The Netflix series is the youngster's first onscreen role; he is best known for his theater work, having appeared in the stage version of "The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole," based on the book series by Sue Townsend (who, incidentally, also wrote the aforementioned "The Queen and I" starring fellow Prince William actor Oliver Chris).

Kampa's own background couldn't be more disparate from the royal he portrays in "The Crown." "Rufus attended a small state school with a real mix of pupils from all different backgrounds," an insider told the Mirror.

Meanwhile, young adult William is played by another unknown actor named Ed McVey. Speaking to Cosmopolitan, McVey revealed that he spent a considerable amount of time watching footage of William in order to perfect his accent and mannerisms. "He has a very specific voice — that 2000s Etonian thing, where people try to dial down how much money they have," he stated. "I worked with a movement coach, so I could embody his physicality, trying to connect it to his psychology ... especially with what he went through at that time."

The up-and-coming actor also dished that he developed a close bond with co-star Meg Bellamy during production, with the casting team noting that the pair had great chemistry during the audition stage.