The royals have been played on screen by many famous counterparts over the years, from Helen Mirren and Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth II to Colin Firth as King George VI. The Princess of Wales was given the television treatment in the award-winning Netflix series, The Crown, and the teen actress who played her is having a major moment in the spotlight right now.
For those not familiar with Prime Video's breakout series Off Campus, the recently released college drama has skyrocketed to number one around the world. The first season, which came out on 13 May and is based on Elle Kennedy's bestselling books, centres around the unexpected love story between hockey captain Garrett Graham and music major Hannah Wells.
Those who have tuned in to the series might recognise Hannah, played by British-American actress Ella Bright, 19, from her role as a young Kate Middleton on season six of The Crown in 2023. The breakout star, who has amassed a following of more than three million on Instagram alone, was in episode seven of the season, titled 'Alma Mater', during which she meets Diana, Princess of Wales, and Prince William for the first time while out in London with her mother over Christmas. The role of Kate in her university years was played by actress Meg Bellamy.
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© Instagram"AHHHH!! Still in shock over this and so beyond grateful to have been given this opportunity, thank you," Ella gushed about the role on Instagram with a photo of her trailer on set, with the sign "young Kate Middleton" on the door.
'Daunting' royal role
The teen star was 16 years old when she played Kate on the Emmy-winning series – a role she admitted was a "daunting task" to undertake. "Searching up interviews, trying to figure out how the accent works - there was a dialect coach on set, which was cool as I hadn’t experienced that before," Ella told Island Magazine about how she prepared to play the royal on screen.
"Getting to perfect my posh British accent was very fun!" she added.
Off Campus notoriety
© PrimeThree years on from her guest performance on The Crown, Ella's star has soared thanks to her breakout performance as Hannah in Off Campus. The show became Prime Video's third largest debut series ever within just 12 days with 36 million views, overtaking juggernaut shows like The Summer I Turned Pretty.
Ella stars across actor Belmont Cameli, 28, who plays her on-screen love interest, Garrett. "With Belmont specifically, it definitely felt different than others [for me] and it felt really special," Ella told HELLO!. "You can only hope and pray that the casting directors feel the same way, and luckily for us they did."
The first season follows Elle Kennedy's 2015 romance book, The Deal, which sees Hannah agree to tutor Garrett in exchange for them to fake date to get the attention of her crush, Justin. The story centres around Garrett and his hockey teammates – Logan, Dean and Tucker – with each book following a different character's love story.
"I think there are so many things and characters that people can find themselves in and relate to in the show," Ella told us. "I think it's a lot of fun, and there's a lot more depth than maybe people are initially expecting. If you're coming for the smut, as I like to say, you'll get it, but you'll also get a lot of heart."
