King Charles III might have been spending a lot of time on TV recently, but he definitely wasn’t acting; that business with the crown in Westminster Abbey was for real.
However, there have been lots of other times when he was definitely acting – and some of it up north too. He even has his own IMDB Page.
Although his most recent acting appearance was alongside Camilla in Eastenders to mark his late mother’s Platinum Jubilee last year, the crowning glory of his acting career was surely when he appeared in Coronation Street in 2000, when his visit to Weatherfield was included in the 40th anniversary episode of the soap.
If someone who has no doubt had lots of instruction – and practice – in the art of public speaking, but not formal acting training, can play his part in a soap, those taking acting classes in Manchester will have every reason to believe they can do it too.
True, the route to appearing in a soap, or for that matter a film or stage play might be a slightly different one than that taken by someone who is already famous for a different reason, but it means you could share a claim to fame with the King if you make it.
Coronation Street cast members are not the only actors to have shared the limelight with a senior royal. After all, it was Chester-born Daniel Craig who played the part of James Bond at Buckingham Palace for the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony, when Queen Elizabeth II became the oldest Bond girl of all.
What’s more, since her majesty went that little bit further and decided to parachute into the Olympic Stadium with 007, she clearly stands out as the top royal actor. That’s one crown her son has evidently yet to inherit.