Charlotte Riley to Play Kate Middleton in King Charles III

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published 10 November 2016

Biopics are hard in that, sometimes, they put bad wigs on actresses and expect the audience to have an easy time pretending they're highly recognizable real people. Thankfully, other times, they get it pretty well right, as they did for the upcoming BBC2 film King Charles III, for which Charlotte Riley has been cast as Kate Middleton.

The Peaky Blinders star and Tom Hardy's wife will play the Duchess in a fictional plot line following the Queen's death and Prince Charles' ascension to the throne. (There's rioting and mayhem after he refuses to sign a controversial bill into law, which is like, yeah, timely.)

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"To be both modern and rich in verse and to play someone who is real but yet totally re-imagined for this story is an exciting prospect for an actor," Riley said. "Kate Middleton is a really interesting woman, and it is a challenge I am really looking forward to."

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Chelsea Peng is a writer and editor who was formerly the assistant editor at MarieClaire.com. She's also worked for The Strategist and Refinery29, and is a graduate of Northwestern University. On her tombstone, she would like a GIF of herself that's better than the one that already exists on the Internet and a free fro-yo machine. Besides frozen dairy products, she's into pirates, carbs, Balzac, and snacking so hard she has to go lie down.

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