The Royals (2016 – 2018)

The three main characters standing in a row facing the camera in front of a white background, blue and red stripes cover them, the words The Royals written in white

©E! Entertainment

Creator: Mark Schwahn
Starring:
Elizabeth Hurley, William Mosely, Alexandra Park, Jake Maskall, Tom Austen
Production Company:
Mastermind Laboratories, Varsity Pictures, Lionsgate Television, Universal Cable Productions
Kent Locations Used:
Allington Castle, Boughton Monchelsea Place, The Historic Dockyard Chatham, Tunbridge Wells

Set in modern-day London, The Royals (2015-2018) follows the lives and scandals of a fictional British Royal family.

The show was created by Mark Schwahn (Coach Carter, One Tree Hill) and the ensemble cast includes Elizabeth Hurley (Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Bedazzled) as Queen Elena, William Mosely (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Carrie Pilby) as Prince Liam, Alexandra Park (Ben is Back, Home and Away) as Princess Eleanor, Jake Maskall (Eastenders, Centurion) as Cyrus and Tom Austen (Grantchester, Helstrom) as Jasper.

For Series 2, the production made use of two locations in Kent: Boughton Monchelsea Place and Allington Castle. Boughton Monchelsea Place can be seen in Episode 3 as the manor house that Princess Eleanor and Jasper visit. Allington Castle features in Episode 7, as the Henstridge residence that Princess Eleanor and Queen Helena visit.

The Historic Dockyard Chatham features in various episodes of Series 4. The Tarred Yarn Store was used to represent the interior of a house in India which Princess Eleanor and Sebastian (Toby Sandeman) are restoring. King Robert (Max Brown) leaves on HMS Cavalier. The gardens of the Commissioner’s House feature as the meeting place for Prince Liam and his ex Kathryn (Christina Wolfe). External street scenes, including a protest, were filmed around the Ropery.

Filming for Series 4 also took place in Tunbridge Wells, on Chapel Place, as part of a Royal Wedding. Unfortunately, this scene did not appear to make the final cut.

The Royals screenshot at Allington Castle - a woman riding a horse into a castle

The Royals screenshot at Allington Castle © Lionsgate Home Entertainment

The Royals screenshot at Boughton Monchelsea - a manor house with people outside

The Royals screenshot at Boughton Monchelsea © Lionsgate Home Entertainment

Boughton Monchelsea Place is a 16th Century manor house set within 15 miles of countryside to the south of Maidstone and has been featured in The Carer (2016) and Half Broken Things (2007).

Allington Castle is privately owned and situated on the banks of the River Medway and was previously on screen in Covington Cross (1992) and The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood (1984).

A historic 17th-Century dockyard spanning over 80 acres, Chatham Dockyard contains over 100 buildings dating from the Georgian and Victorian Periods. It is the most popular filming location in Kent, having played host to many high-profile films and TV shows, including The Crown (2016-2022), Victoria & Abdul (2017) and Holmes & Watson (2018).

Set in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Tunbridge Wells is a historic spa town that offers a mix of independent shops and restaurants set alongside the colonnaded Pantiles and the picturesque High Street. The area is renowned for its historic houses and gardens and has been a place of interest for over 400 years. Other productions to have filmed there include Rupert, Rupert & Rupert (2019), Series 3 of Britannia (2021), and The Cleaner (2021).

The second series of The Royals began airing on Wednesday 10th February 2016 on E!

Series 4 of The Royals began airing on Sunday 11th March 2018 on E!

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map.