The Crown, Dominic West has already met King Charles III

Even before getting the role of Prince Charles in The Crown, Dominic West said he met and met King Charles III on several occasions. How?

As controversial as it is in the eyes of the British crown, The Crown is one of Netflix’s flagship series. The fifth season, released in early November 2022, featured a cast change as it was set in the 90s, for which it replaced all of the main characters in the TV series. Among these, there is also the Prince of Wales. Charles, who became king after the death of his mother Elizabeth II, was played by Josh O’Connor in the third and fourth seasons. But, from the fifth season, he took on the features of Dominic West.

Credits: Ansa/Netflix

To get into character, the actor said he went through a special, completely scenic procedure that helped him put himself in the shoes of a future king. But, even before landing the role of Prince of Wales, Dominic West met King Charles III. Indeed, more than once. Here’s how it went.

The Crown, when Dominic West met King Charles III

How did he meet the king? One reason is quite simple and intuitive: Dominic West is an ambassador for the Prince’s Trust, a charity founded by King Charles III and also mentioned in the fifth season of The Crown. The second opportunity came through her marriage. It would indeed seem that the actor was able to meet his majesty thanks to his wife, a landscaper by profession who collaborated with the king on certain projects. It was told by Dominic West himself, who before The Crown starred in other hit TV series such as The Wire and The Affair.

The crown

He revealed to EW: “My wife was involved in the Hillsborough Castle garden project in Belfast and the Dumfries House garden in Scotland. Always seemed a bit disappointed when I wasn’t there with my wife. We mostly talked about her and the plants.” According to Dominic West, King Charles also enjoyed his performance in the television adaptation of Les Miserables where, coincidentally, he played alongside Josh O’Connor.

The crown

Once he accepted the role, Dominic West explained how he was preparing to play such an important character. “I read most of the books written about him and there were tons of them. I saw a lot of videos and interviews.” Moreover, he would also have allowed himself a small visit to a cottage belonging to the king: “He has an agricultural estate which he saved in Cornwall and which the Duchy of Cornwall now manages; there you can rent the cottage. I went there for a week, just to continue my reading and my research and to walk around thinking about his personality.” A technique that seems to have paid off.