Dominic West is reportedly in talks to portray Prince Charles during a particularly scandalous time in the royal’s life during Seasons 5 and 6 of The Crown, Deadline reported Monday. In the fifth season of the Netflix series, the Prince of Wales will reveal his affair with Camilla Parker Bowles during his marriage to Princess Diana prior to her death.
In real life, Charles admitted to the affair during a June 1994 interview before he and Diana divorced in 1996 — just one year before her death in August 1997. In February 2005, Charles proposed to Parker Bowles, and the two married in April of that same year. The casting news comes at a particularly fitting time, as The Affair actor, 50, made headlines just over a week ago when he was spotted kissing co-star Lily James in Rome. West, who married Catherine FitzGerald in 2010, shares four children with his wife — Dora, 14, Senan, 12, Francis, 11, and Christabel, 5 — as well as 22-year-old daughter Martha with ex-girlfriend Polly Astor.
Videos by PopCulture.com
On Oct. 12, West and James were photographed riding on a scooter together, and West was not seen wearing a wedding band. Later, the Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again star and West were photographed kissing at lunch with their shared agent. As the photos stirred up drama, West and FitzGerald reunited at their home, where they gave a handwritten note to reporters reading, “Our marriage is strong and we’re very much still together. Thank you.”
Despite the show of solidarity, a friend close to FitzGerald told the Daily Mail after the photos emerged, “She’s totally shocked because she didn’t know anything was going on. They were very much together, so this is completely out of the blue. She thought they had a good marriage and now it’s probably over. That’s how she feels right now but the two of them need to speak but at the moment, she’s lost for words.”
James has another romantic tie to The Crown, having previously dated Matt Smith, who played Prince Phillip in Seasons 1 and 2. In Season 4 of the royal drama, premiering Nov. 15, Josh O’Connor will return for his role as a younger Charles, where he will be joined by Emma Corrin as Princess Diana and Olivia Colman, who will spend her last season portraying Queen Elizabeth II. Imelda Staunton will play the queen for the final two seasons, and Leslie Manville will play Princess Margaret, while Jonathan Pryce takes over as Prince Philip.
Related Posts
-
Britain's Camilla smiles as she wears a modified version of Queen Mary's Crown during the Coronation Ceremony inside Westminster Abbey in central London, on May 6, 2023. – The set-piece coronation is the first in Britain in 70 years, and only the second in history to be televised. Charles will be the 40th reigning monarch to be crowned at the central London church since King William I in 1066. Outside the UK, he is also king of 14 other Commonwealth countries, including Australia, Canada and New Zealand. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole / POOL / AFP) (Photo by GARETH CATTERMOLE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
