Given that Prince William is one of the most recognisable people in the world, it's understandable that actor Ed McVey, who portrays the Prince of Wales in the new (and final) season of The Crown, might feel a lot of pressure to nail the royal's likeness. So, it makes perfect sense then that the actor did a whole tonne of prep and research into the POW ahead of filming – and learnt a surprising thing or two about him along the way.
Speaking exclusively to Cosmopolitan UK about how hard he worked to get into character, McVey explained that he spent a lot of time mastering the Prince of Wales' accent in particular, as well as his signature way of moving and body language.
"He's one of the only Royals that has basically been documented since birth. So I was really able to watch him grow up. And I really, really studied him," McVey shared. "I was given lots of research by our incredible research team that are the best in the business and they read and cross reference everything, and they send you this massive pack, which basically covers everything to do with the scripts that can be cross referenced in articles and books."
The actor then explained that as well as reading "as much as possible" he also put a cap on how far into the timeline of William's life he allowed himself to explore. "I only read up to where my timeline finishes. So only when he leaves uni, or the bit that I knew in the script was my part to do. Because I didn't want to get murky with later information that didn't affect what Peter Morgan had written."
As for nailing the voice, McVey gives props to his vocal coach who helped him to get familiar with Prince William's "very specific sound, that sort of 2000s Etonian thing, where people try to dull down how much money they have".
Mastering the Prince's movements were also key for fleshing out the character too, the newcomer reveals: "I play William from around the age of 16 through 24, so I saw the physicality as a way of basically ageing him, and trying to connect his psychology with his physicality – how he feels in his mind impacts how he behaves in his body, especially with what he went through at that time.
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"Also, as he grows older, he becomes more certain of his lot in life and he knows who he is."
Along the way, McVey also said he ran into a couple of surprises when researching Prince William, including the perception that the future King is a very serious sort. Especially in contrast to his younger brother, Prince Harry.
"I think people consider him to be quite serious, or like the sort of 'straight one' [while] Harry's the 'fun one'," McVey said. "But no, he's incredibly fun and has a massive sense of humour. He's not like this sort of serious, straight guy; he's really fun and playful and has a lot of banter."
Anyone else clearing their weekend schedule to binge part one of The Crown, too?
Jennifer Savin is Cosmopolitan UK's multiple award-winning Features Editor, who was crowned Digital Journalist of the Year for her work tackling the issues most important to young women. She regularly covers breaking news, cultural trends, health, the royals and more, using her esteemed connections to access the best experts along the way. She's grilled everyone from high-profile politicians to A-list celebrities, and has sensitively interviewed hundreds of people about their real life stories. In addition to this, Jennifer is widely known for her own undercover investigations and campaign work, which includes successfully petitioning the government for change around topics like abortion rights and image-based sexual abuse. Jennifer is also a published author, documentary consultant (helping to create BBC’s Deepfake Porn: Could You Be Next?) and a patron for Y.E.S. (a youth services charity). Alongside Cosmopolitan, Jennifer has written for The Times, Women’s Health, ELLE and numerous other publications, appeared on podcasts, and spoken on (and hosted) panels for the Women of the World Festival, the University of Manchester and more. In her spare time, Jennifer is a big fan of lipstick, leopard print and over-ordering at dinner. Follow Jennifer on Instagram, X or LinkedIn.
Dusty Baxter-Wright is an award-winning journalist and the Entertainment and Lifestyle Director at Cosmopolitan, having previously worked at Sugarscape. She was named one of PPA’s 30 Under 30 for her work covering pop culture, careers, interiors and travel, and oversees the site’s Entertainment and Lifestyle strategy across print, digital and video. As a journalist for the best part of a decade, she has interviewed everyone from Louis Theroux and Channing Tatum to Margot Robbie and Ncuti Gatwa, while she has also spoken on Times Radio and BBC Radio. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram here.
