Long may she reign
Elizabeth Hurley dazzles in soapy drama ‘The Royals’
As Prince William and Kate Middleton tour the globe with their little ones and Prince Harry makes headlines for his recent romance, it seems a new generation of royals has revived public interest in the British monarchy. While Netflix’s new hit “The Crown” has been praised for its realistic portrayal of royal life, another series offers viewers a deliciously scandalous version.
Elizabeth Hurley (“Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery,” 1997) returns as Queen Helena in the season 3 premiere of “The Royals,” airing Sunday, Dec. 4, on E! The fictional prime-time soap follows a corrupt British royal family that is nothing like its real-life counterpart. Hurley leads the cast as matriarch Helena, who is still reeling from the events of last season’s finale.
Created by Mark Schwahn, the show is loosely based on Michelle Ray’s novel “Falling for Hamlet,” and, in fact, each episode of the series is named for a line from William Shakespeare’s famous play about the Prince of Denmark. Despite some initial misgivings from critics, who scoffed at the overthe-top melodrama of the prime-time soap, the series has persevered, and was renewed for a third season in January. Shortly afterward, news broke that E! had signed a development deal with Schwahn, indicating network execs had faith in the series, and in him.
“We love what Mark continues to do with ‘The Royals’; he has a natural talent for weaving drama and pop culture and creating sensational characters with mass appeal,” said NBC executive Jeff Wachtel when Schwahn signed on to continue with the production.
Those sensational characters return in season 3, which consists of 10 onehour episodes. The season opener picks up two weeks after the execution of Ted Pryce (Oliver Milburn, “The Descent,” 2005), King Simon’s (Vincent Regan, “300,” 2006) murderer, who died at the hands of an angry mob. Queen Helena is left scrambling to prove that her children, Prince Liam (William Moseley, “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” 2005) and Princess Eleanor (Alexandra Park, “The Elephant Princess”), are Simon’s and, hence, legitimate heirs to the throne.
Unfortunately for Helena and her offspring, Simon’s brother — and the country’s current ruler — King Cyrus (Jake Maskall, “EastEnders”) is determined to make sure Helena doesn’t prove the twins’ paternity.
At the same time, twins Liam and Eleanor have become enormously popular, and a #KingLiam hashtag spreads across England as the people support their hero prince. However, Liam is tormented by the memory of Ted’s execution, and copes with his anger and resentment in a dangerous way. Elsewhere, Eleanor struggles to figure out what to do about her relationship with Jasper (Tom Austen, “Grantchester”). Although he once tried to blackmail her, she has fallen in love with him.
While fans are no doubt interested in what’s going on with the rest of the royal Henstridge family, the real story of the season is the potential reappearance of Robert, Liam and Eleanor’s presumed-dead brother. In June, news broke that Max Brown (“The Tudors”) had been cast as Simon and Helena’s eldest child, and true heir to the throne. The extent of the role is as yet unknown, but Robert’s reappearance could have big implications for his siblings, mother and uncle. The whole family was devastated when he was reported dead in the series debut, and much of what’s happened since then has been a direct result of his apparent demise.
Brown is not the only new face this season. Hurley’s real-life son, 14-yearold Damian, makes his professional acting debut in “The Royals” as Prince Hansel of Lichtenstein. The cast also welcomes British actor Jules Knight (“Holby City”) as Spencer, the new Lord Chamberlain.
Hurley’s son’s debut and Robert’s return has had fans buzzing about the new season, and E! has taken advantage of the U.S. election year to promote the series. The show made headlines in October with a cheeky promo for season 3, in which Hurley’s Queen Helena told Americans that England was ready to welcome them back following the November election.
“The Royals” has amassed a loyal following of fans, more than 800,000 viewers were tuning in by the end of last season. However, the show hasn’t always been a big hit with critics, many of whom panned the show from the beginning. Regardless of what TV critics say, “The Royals” has been reasonably well received by audiences, scoring a 71 percent Rotten Tomatoes approval rating.