As a television show with a reputation for being almost perfectly cast, there’s a lot of pressure on Netflix hit The Crown to continue finding the best actors and actresses to portray the British royal family.
With season five of the show, which details the lives of the British monarchy, scheduled to air in November, creator Peter Morgan has said the sixth season will be the last.
The final series will introduce Kate Middleton, meaning the hunt is on for an actress to portray the Duchess of Cambridge during the period of the early 2000s, when she met Prince William at the University of St Andrews.
According to Variety, a casting call went out this week regarding the role, which said they were seeking “an exceptional young actor to play Kate Middleton. This is a good role in this award-winning drama and we are looking for a strong physical resemblance”.
During an interview this week, Normal People star Daisy Edgar-Jones, 23, threw her hat into the ring.
Appearing on the Today show in the US, when host Sheinelle Jones told the actress there was social media buzz about how well she would fit the role, the actress said: “Oh, my gosh, that’s the first I’ve heard of that. That’s cool.”
She later said: “I mean, I wouldn’t say no.”
Season five of the award-winning show will feature Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth II. Newcomers include Jonathan Pryce as Prince Philip, Dominic West as Prince Charles and Tenet actress Elizabeth Debicki as Princess Diana.
With Edgar-Jones interested in the role, here are six more actresses who would be a good fit …
Lily Collins
At 33, the Emily in Paris star looks youthful enough to pass for a university student. And although Phil Collins’s actress daughter might have been raised in the US, she can do an excellent British accent.
Allison Williams
The star of Girls and Get Out has emerged as a fan favourite on social media to take the role. The SAG-nominated actress is statuesque enough to fill the duchess’s Hunter wellies.
Lily James
She’s played Cinderella on the big screen, so it wouldn’t be a stretch for the British actress, 33, to relive that fairy tale once more. She also perfected her aristocratic accent as Lady Rose Aldrige in Downton Abbey.
Daisy Ridley
Starring as Rey in the recent Star Wars trilogy, Ridley, 30, showed she’s no stranger to inhabiting big roles. She’s also had a minor brush with royalty because her grandfather, John Harry Dunn Ridley, was awarded an OBE.
Maude Apatow
As the daughter of writer-producer Judd Apatow, Maude is more Hollywood royalty than British royal family. The actress, 24, has been praised for her role as Lexi Howard on the award-winning Euphoria.
Kaya Scodelario
The actress, 30, came to prominence on the British TV show Skins, but it was her role as Teresa in the Maze Runner franchise that caught Hollywood’s attention.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
'Dark Waters'
Directed by: Todd Haynes
Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Anne Hathaway, William Jackson Harper
Rating: ****
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