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    1. Culture

    The Princess Switch cast has confirmed Harry and Meghan as their inspiration

    And we knew it!

    Jenny Proudfoot's avatar
    By Jenny Proudfoot
    Published 22 November 2018 In Features

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    (Image credit: Netflix)
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    And we knew it!

    The Princess Switch was released on Netflix less than a week ago, and already we’ve seen it too many times to count.

    The Parent Trap esque film (this year’s answer to A Christmas Prince) sees Vanessa Hudgens playing the two leads, involving a European Duchess switching places with a baker from Chicago, who looks identical to her, just one week before Christmas.

    Inevitably they fall in love with each other’s partners, want each other’s lives and somehow everything ties together perfectly in the end.

    The Princess Switch

    (Image credit: Netflix)

    The film has gone viral for a number of reasons - Margaret Delacourt’s wardrobe, the gaping plotholes and of course the hilarious Twitter responses.

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    But one of the main reasons behind the film’s intense popularity is the rumours that it was inspired by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s relationship, something that The Princess Switch cast has just confirmed.

    That’s right. According to Sam Palladio who plays Prince Edward, the Netflix original film is loosely based on the royal couple.

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    Geoff Pugh/REX/Shutterstock
    (Image credit: Geoff Pugh/REX/Shutterstock)

    ‘Literally the day we arrived [on set] it was the royal wedding so it was, it actually was a really good character research,’ Sam explained to Bustle. ’Our story is very much the Harry and Meghan story. Well, I guess without the double “Meghans,” because that would be a bit weird.’

    Going on to talk about his performance, he continued: ‘I think there’s some human elements of Harry that are in there. That’s what I kind of wanted to do. You realise at the end that he’s a normal guy, he just wants to find somebody to love, and I think that those parallels are definitely there with Harry and Meghan in terms of the... yeah, OK, they have these huge duties to perform, and they’re very much in the spotlight but you know you can totally see at the end of the day that they’re both smitten with each other and it’s a true little romance, so I wanted to capture a little element of that.’

    So The Princess Switch and Harry and Meghan are linked - this might just be the best news we’ve heard all day.

    Be right back - we’re off to watch it again!

    Jenny Proudfoot
    Jenny Proudfoot
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    Contributing Features Editor

    Jenny Proudfoot is an award-winning journalist, specialising in lifestyle, culture, entertainment, international development and politics. After working at Marie Claire UK for seven years - rising from intern to Features Editor - she is now a freelance contributor to the News and Features section.

    In 2021, Jenny was named as a winner on the PPA's '30 under 30' list, and was also listed as a rising star in journalism.

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