Last night saw the release of gripping new ITV drama mini-series The Lady, which follows a dramatisation of the real life case of Jane Andrews, Sarah Ferguson's former royal dresser, who was found guilty of the murder of her partner Thomas Cressman.
Starring Mia Mckenna-Bruce as Jane Andrews, and Natalie Dormer as Sarah Ferguson the four-part series follows Andrews' early beginnings, to accepting a job as a royal dresser, to her close friendship with the former Duchess.
Given The Lady's connections to the Royal Family, many fans have been wondering if the former Prince Andrew, now Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, will feature as a character.
The first episode centres very much on the time Sarah Ferguson was married to the former prince and was living in Buckingham Palace as a working royal. So it would make sense in theory for an actor playing Andrew to make an appearance.
However, it turns out we won't be seeing a fictional portrayal of Mountbatten-Windsor as The Lady's writer felt it wasn't necessary to the plot.
Debbie O’Malley, who wrote the series, told The Radio Times, she chose not to include Andrew as it was all about the relationship between Jane and Sarah.
"Andrew does not feature," she told the publication. "[The Lady] isn't interested in the royal world because it’s very much about the female, domestic world of Sarah and Jane’s part in it. We only ever see the Sarah that Jane got to see.”
The series is really meant to be focussing on the friendship between the two women, which goes through various stages in the series.
"A fascinating dynamic as close as friends but with a difference in status that will never go away," explained O'Malley.
Apart from the main role of Sarah, no other portrayals of the Royal Family feature in the series. During one scene we see Sarah leaving a meeting with Queen Elizabeth II, however Her Majesty does not actually appear during any scenes.
The second episode of the series is due for release this evening at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX. All episodes are available on ITVX now
