Ma’am! A dashing duke has inherited your throne
IT MIGHT look familiar as the Queen’s lavish Buckingham Palace study enjoyed by actresses Claire Foy and Olivia Colman, the stars of The Crown.
But in reality it’s The Large Smoking Room inside one of Britain’s grandest stately homes, Wilton House in Salisbury, Wiltshire.
And the next Netflix monarch may have a fight on her hands to keep the keys to her “office” after the streaming giant made it the distinctive base for one of the main characters in the new high society hit Bridgerton.
Eagle-eyed viewers have spotted that it has been used for interior shots of Clyvedon Castle, the fictional home of the dashing Duke of Hastings, played by Regé-jean Page, and his bride Daphne Bridgerton, played by Phoebe Dynevor.
In episode six of the Regency romp, the Duke is seen mulling over his business affairs, at the very same desk used by both Foy and Colman in The Crown.
Bridgerton has proved a huge success for Netflix, which is projecting that 63 million households will have tuned in worldwide during its first four weeks on screen.
In comparison, the Crown’s biggest launch, for series three in 2019, saw it reach 21 million in its first month.
TV experts believe the huge popularity of Bridgerton could prove to be a headache for producers of The Crown when it comes to the next series, which sees Imelda Staunton take over from Colman.
Sunday Express TV critic David Stephenson said: “It’s not ideal to have two of the biggest characters in two of the biggest shows on Netflix sharing a study.
“It may irritate some viewers so someone may lose out. With Bridgerton looking
like it will run and run it could be the Duke that wins out, although it’s not often the Queen comes second best!”
Though not officially confirmed, Bridgerton, based on a series of eight books by US author Julia Quinn, is expected to be recommissioned and filming will begin in the UK later this year.
Set between 1813 and 1827 each book follows the fortunes of a different sibling from the fictional Bridgerton clan. Series one, based on the novel The Duke And I, follows the life of Daphne, an aristocrat’s unconventional debutante daughter.
Wilton House has been the country seat of the Earls of Pembroke for more than 400 years. There are two smoking rooms, with the larger one featuring a set of 55 equestrian-themed paintings and antique furniture made by Thomas Chippendale. The house has long been an attraction for TV producers keen to provide an authentic period setting.
Its bridge and gardens were featured in Blackadder, while other rooms appeared in films The Madness Of King George, Mrs Brown and Pride And Prejudice.
The house’s grandest room, The Double Cube Room, has featured in every series of The Crown.
Bridgerton’s popularity is likely to spark a tourism boom from fans all over the world once travel restrictions after the pandemic are relaxed.
Bridgerton is primarily filmed in the Georgian splendour of Bath, using The Royal Crescent built by John Wood from 1767 to 1775. Also featured is the Assembly Rooms, another Wood design.
Filming also took place at Hatfield House in Hertfordshire, Castle Howard in North Yorkshire, Badminton House in Gloucestershire and London’s Hampton Court Palace.
Staunton will be the third actress to take on the role of Queen Elizabeth in the fifth and final series of The Crown.
The 65-year-old says playing the modern day Queen will be an “extra challenge” due to the audience’s familiarity with Her Majesty. She said: “With Claire Foy it was almost history. Now I’m playing one where people could say ‘She doesn’t do that’, or ‘She’s not like that’.”