Prince William Keeps it Professional (and Not at All Awkward) Meeting with Actress from 'The Crown'

And this wasn't the first time they met

Published Nov 15, 2024

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4:06pm

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Perhaps no royal news was more exciting than finding out that Prince William and Kate Middleton would finally be depicted on Netflix's The Crown in the show's sixth and final season. (Well, except maybe for when it came out that King Charles watched The Crown and said, "I'm nowhere near how they portray me.")

But then, this week, my excitement reached new levels as Prince William got to shake hands with a prominent member of The Crown cast, Imelda Staunton (AKA Queen Elizabeth from seasons five and six).

On November 12, Staunton was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire at an Investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle. The person presenting her with the honor? None other than William himself.

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Fortunately, the Prince of Wales kept things very professional and was all smiles, per pictures shared by The Daily Mail.

But it also makes sense that there would be no hard feelings between the royal and the woman who portrayed his granny. After all, Staunton has been a British treasure for decades, with a number of connections to the royal family herself.

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In fact, Queen Elizabeth's favorite show was Downton Abbey, and Staunton appeared in both of the D.A. films. In addition, Staunton plays Aunt Lucy in the Paddington films. Queen Elizabeth famously did a skit with Paddington in honor of her Platinum Jubilee and both the late queen and King Charles will appear (in photo form) in the upcoming Paddington in Peru.

On top of all these Staunton-royal fam connections, this isn't the first time the acclaimed actress has received an honor from Prince William. Back in 2016, the then-Duke of Sussex presented her with a CBE for services to drama at an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace.

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While I love an awkward moment as much as the next person (that Denzel-King Charles interaction from earlier this week is still killing me), I'm glad to see there are no hard feelings. After all, The Crown was a work of total fiction...right?

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Philip Mutz

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