The Royals is an American primetime television drama soap opera that premiered on E! on March 15, 2015. Created by Mark Schwahn and starring Elizabeth Hurley, it is the network's first scripted series. It began as a loose adaptation of the 2011 Michelle Ray novel Falling for Hamlet. E! renewed it for a second season two months before its debut, and picked up a third season on January 5, 2016. E! renewed it for a fourth season on February 16, 2017, which began airing on March 11, 2018. E! cancelled the series after four seasons in August 2018. Lionsgate Television was shopping the series to other networks with discussions for a pick-up by sister network Pop, but on September 24, Lionsgate failed to find a new home for the series and it was officially cancelled.
Hurley stars as Queen Helena, a fictional contemporary queen consort of The United Kingdom, along with William Moseley and Alexandra Park as her twin children, Prince Liam and Princess Eleanor; Jake Maskall as Helena's brother-in-law and nemesis, the new King Cyrus; Tom Austen as Eleanor's bodyguard and blackmailer, Jasper Frost; and Oliver Milburn as Ted Pryce, the Royal Family's head of security. Season 1 also starred Vincent Regan as Helena's husband, King Simon, and Merritt Patterson as Liam's love interest, Ophelia Pryce.
Plot summary Helena is the matriarch of a fictional contemporary British royal family who must struggle with both common and atypical family dramas while in the public eye. Twins Prince Liam and Princess Eleanor enjoy the hedonistic pleasures available to them as royals, knowing that their older brother Robert bears the responsibility of being heir to the throne of England. But when Robert is killed, the family is thrown into disarray and a grieving King Simon fears for the future of the monarchy. Unexpectedly next in line for the throne, Liam must adjust to his new role while navigating his attraction to Ophelia, the American daughter of the royal head of security. His self-destructive sister Eleanor finds rock-bottom when her bodyguard turns out to be a conman. Trying to preserve the status quo and keep the royal family under her control, Queen Helena allies herself with Simon's brother Cyrus to preserve their way of life at any cost.
Cast Main ActorRoleDescriptionSeasons1234 Elizabeth Hurley Queen Helena Henstridge Simon's wife, the Queen of The United Kingdom and later the Queen Mother in season 3 colspan="4" Vincent Regan King Simon Henstridge King of The United Kingdom; he dies at the end of season 1 and is initially succeeded by his brother when his surviving children are deemed illegitimate. colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="2" William Moseley Prince Liam Henstridge Simon and Helena's second son, twin to Eleanor and heir to the throne after his elder brother Robert is killed colspan="4" Alexandra Park Princess Eleanor Henstridge Liam's twin sister colspan="4" Jake Maskall Prince Cyrus Henstridge Simon's brother the Duke of York, who succeeds him as king in season 2 but is removed in season 3 when Simon's presumed-dead son Robert reappears. colspan="4" Tom Austen Sir Jasper Frost Royal bodyguard and Eleanor's on-again, off-again boyfriend. He is knighted by Robert in season 4. colspan="4" Oliver Milburn Ted Pryce Head of royal security in seasons 1 and 2, and Ophelia's father colspan="2" colspan="2" Merritt Patterson Ophelia Pryce Liam's love interest in season 1, and daughter of Ted Pryce colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="2" Genevieve Gaunt Wilhelmina "Willow" Moreno A friend of Liam's who is later hired by Helena to be the family's social media manager. At the end of season 4 she marries Robert, and becomes queen. colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="2" Max Brown King Robert Henstridge Simon and Helena's eldest son and heir to the throne; he is thought to have been killed in a plane crash, but he reappears in season 3 and ascends the throne. He marries Willow at the end of season 4. colspan="2" colspan="2"
Recurring ActorRoleDescriptionSeasons1234 Victoria Ekanoye Rachel Helena's secretary colspan="4" Lydia Rose Bewley Princess Penelope Henstridge Cyrus's older daughter colspan="2" colspan="2" Hatty Preston Jerry-Jane Pears Princess Maribel Henstridge Cyrus's younger daughter colspan="2" colspan="2" Andrew Bicknell Lucius Secretary to Helena and later Cyrus colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan=“1” Poppy Corby-Tuech Prudence A palace servant who becomes involved with Cyrus colspan="2" colspan="2" Manpreet Bachu Ashok Liam's friend colspan="2" colspan="2" Scott Maslen James Holloway A married politician and Cyrus's male sometimes-lover colspan="2" colspan="2" Simon Thomas Nigel Moorefield A politician and leader of the anti-monarchy movement colspan="2" colspan="2" Andrew Cooper Lord Twysden "Beck" Beckwith II Best friend of Robert, longtime friend of Liam and love interest of Eleanor colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="1" Joan Collins Grand Duchess Alexandra of Oxford Helena's mother colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="1" Thomas ChristianBrandon BooneA mercenary responsible for Robert's plane crash colspan="1" colspan="3" Leanne Joyce Imogen A girl Eleanor befriends after touring a rehab center colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="2" Tom Ainsley Nick Roane Ophelia's classmate and love interest colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="2" Noah Huntley Captain Alistair Lacey Helena's lover colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="2" Ukweli Roach Marcus Jeffrys Liam's bodyguard and confidante colspan="1" colspan="3" Sophie Colquhoun Gemma Kensington Liam's jewelry-heiress ex-girlfriend colspan="1" colspan="3" Rocky Marshall James Hill Eleanor's newest bodyguard, later head of royal security colspan="3" Tanveer GhaniCrenshaw A reporter colspan="2" Matthew Wolf Jeffrey Stewart Dominique Stewart's brother Laila Rouass Rani The Deputy Prime Minister colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="2" Stephanie Vogt Daphne Pryce Ted's deceased wife colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="2" Sarah Dumont Mandy/Samantha Cook Eleanor's American friend who shares a past with Jasper colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="2" Keeley Hazell Violet A palace maid who is kind to Cyrus as he convalesces colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan=“1” Ben Cura Holden Avery Liam's friend and Ivan's brother colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="2" Alex Felton Ivan Avery Liam's friend and Holden's brother colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="2" Jules Knight Spencer Hoenigsberg The Lord Chamberlain colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan="1" Miley Locke Sara Alice Hill James Hill's daughter colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan="1" Christina Wolfe Kathryn Davis Bartender friend and love interest of Liam, previously involved with Robert colspan="2" colspan="2" Tom Forbes Charles Madden Liam's friend colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan="1" Aoife McMahon Veruca Popperwell, Duchess of Essex Cyrus's ex-wife and the mother of his daughters colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan="1" Toby Sandeman Prince Sebastian Idrisi Eleanor's charity auction date who becomes a friend and confidante colspan="2" colspan="2" Margo Stilley Harper An unscrupulous American reporter colspan="2" Damian Hurley Prince Hansel von Liechtenstein Crown Prince of Liechtenstein, and Helena's favourite reality television star colspan="2" colspan="2" Andrew SteeleColin YorkeA politician with whom Helena rekindles a past affaircolspan="3" Emily BarberCassandra Von HalenA candidate on the King's list of potential bridescolspan="3" Richard BrakeEarl FrostJasper's father, a con mancolspan="3" Nina YoungFelicity MorenoWillow's mothercolspan="3"
Production Development
In April 2013, E! announced several scripted projects in development, including The Royals, "a contemporary family ensemble… steeped in all of the regal opulence of the British Monarchy and framed by Shakespeare's Hamlet." Deadline Hollywood reported in June 2013 that E! would produce pilots for The Royals and another series named Songbyrd, which would be its first scripted pilots to date. The Royals was picked up for series in March 2014, to be shot in the United Kingdom and scheduled to debut in 2015. Shooting for the first season began in London in June 2014. In August 2014, E! released its first promotional trailer. The first season consisted of ten episodes.
In December 2014, E! announced that the series would premiere on March 15, 2015. It later announced at the Television Critics Association press tour on January 15, 2015 that the series was renewed for a second season, two months before its debut. E!'s Executive Vice President of Original Programming & Development Jeff Olde noted that production for season two would begin in London in spring 2015. Shooting officially resumed on June 15, 2015, with season two premiering on November 15, 2015. On January 5, 2016, E! renewed The Royals for a third season, which premiered on December 4, 2016. Several days before the season three finale, the series was renewed for a fourth season on February 16, 2017, which premiered on March 11, 2018.
Schwahn was suspended from the series after the completion of season four filming on November 15, 2017, following sexual harassment allegations by female cast and crew of both The Royals and his previous series, One Tree Hill, came to light. He was subsequently fired from the series on December 22, 2017. On August 16, 2018, it was announced that E! had canceled the series after four seasons. It was reported that Lionsgate Television was shopping the series to other networks, with discussions already underway for a pick-up by sister network Pop. However on September 24, 2018, it was announced that Lionsgate had failed to find a new home for the series and that it was now considered officially ended.
The production uses Blenheim Palace as its fictional royal palace. In season two, the production also filmed at Allington Castle and Boughton Monchelsea Place in Kent. Various scenes were filmed at The Historic Dockyard Chatham in Kent in June 2017 for episode 4, season four. The locations used there included The Tarred Yarn Store, HMS Cavalier, Commissioner's House garden and the Ropery Tunnels. Chapel Place in Tunbridge Wells was also featured as part of a royal wedding. Some scenes in the show were also filmed at Wrest Park in Bedfordshire.
Casting In September 2013, Hurley was cast in the leading role of Queen Helena. Soon after, Moseley was cast as Helena's son Liam, followed by Park as Liam's twin sister Eleanor and Haley Lu Richardson as his love interest, Ophelia. The rest of the pilot's cast included Regan, Austen, Maskall, Roach and Milburn. After the series pickup, Merritt Patterson replaced Richardson as Ophelia in June 2014, as shooting for the first season began in London. Additional recurring roles included Bewley and Preston as Cyrus' eccentric daughters Penelope and Maribel, and Colquhoun as Gemma, Liam's heiress ex-girlfriend. In August 2014, People reported that Joan Collins would guest star as the Grand Duchess of Oxford, Helena's mother.
In June 2015, Laila Rouass was cast as Rani, the Deputy Prime Minister whom the actress calls "Elizabeth Hurley's arch-enemy". For season 2, Hatty Preston was replaced as Princess Maribel with Jerry-Jane Pears, the difference in their appearance explained by plastic surgery.
In June 2016, Max Brown was cast as Prince Robert, the presumed-dead eldest son of Simon and Helena, and Jules Knight was cast as Spencer Koenigsberg, Helena's new Lord Chamberlain. Genevieve Gaunt, who played Liam's potential love interest Willow in season 2, was also promoted from recurring to series regular for season 3. Hurley's son Damian Hurley was cast in a guest star role in July 2016.
Concept and characterization