Marie Claire UK Marie Claire UK
  • Fashion Fashion
      • Fashion
        • View all Fashion
        • Fashion Trends
        • Shopping
        • Watches and Jewellery
        • Fashion News
  • Beauty Beauty
      • Beauty
        • View all Beauty
        • Fragrance
        • Hair
        • Make Up
        • Skincare
        • Nails
        • Marie Claire Beauty Awards
  • Health Health
      • Health
        • View all Health
        • Fitness
        • Nutrition
        • Female Health
        • Wellbeing
  • Life Life
      • Life
        • View all Life
        • Opinions
        • Travel
        • Sustainability
        • Weddings
        • Money & Work
        • Competitions
  • Culture Culture
      • Culture
        • View all Culture
        • TV and Film
        • Celebrity News
        • Books
        • Royal News
  • Vouchers Vouchers
      • Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Mint Velvet
        • Karen Millen
        • H&M
        • nobody's child
        • ASOS
        • ARKET
        • MANGO
      • Designer Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Reiss
        • THE OUTNET
        • SSENSE
        • Mytheresa
        • Liberty London
        • Selfridges
        • Farfetch
      • Accessories
        • View all Vouchers
        • AllSaints
        • Aspinal of London
        • Charles & Keith
        • River Island
        • FitFlop
        • Kate Spade
        • Vagabond
      • Jewellery
        • View all Vouchers
        • Pandora
        • Abbott Lyon
        • Goldsmiths
        • Beaverbrooks
        • Astrid & Miyu
        • Swarovski
        • Angara Jewellery
      • Beauty
        • View all Vouchers
        • Sephora
        • Cult Beauty
        • Space NK
        • Dyson
        • Clarins
        • Look Fantastic
        • Clinique
      • Activewear
        • View all Vouchers
        • Lululemon
        • Gymshark
        • Sweaty Betty
        • Nike
        • adidas
        • New Balance
        • Helly Hansen
  • NEWSLETTER Signup to our newsletter
  • logoCreated with Sketch.
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • Women in Sport 2026
    • Marie Claire Masters
    • Spring Summer 2026
    • Nail Trends 2026
    • Best Investment Bags
    • Best Perfumes
    • Digital Issues
    • Women Who Win
    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

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    (Image credit: Netflix)
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    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.

    You may like
    • The Duke and Duchess of Sussex in Colombia Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Had a Secret UK Home in the First Year of Their Marriage
    • Meghan Markle in 'With Love, Meghan' Meghan Markle’s Sweet Glimpse Into Sussex Family Life Is Going Viral
    • The Prince and Princess of Wales visit the Isles of Mull and Iona Royal Experts Predict a Major Milestone From Princess Kate This Autumn

    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.

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    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
    Social Links Navigation
    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.

    Read more
    The Duke and Duchess of Sussex in Colombia
    Royal News Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Had a Secret UK Home in the First Year of Their Marriage
    Meghan Markle in 'With Love, Meghan'
    Celebrity News Meghan Markle’s Sweet Glimpse Into Sussex Family Life Is Going Viral
     
     
    The Prince and Princess of Wales visit the Isles of Mull and Iona
    Royal News Royal Experts Predict a Major Milestone From Princess Kate This Autumn
    We Finally Know What To Expect From Leighton Meester’s Character in Nobody Wants This
    TV and Film One Surprising A-Lister Is Joining the Nobody Wants This Season Three Cast
     
     
    Latest in Culture
    Notting Hill Carnival
    Culture The Agenda: How to Spend Your Finite Free Time Well This Summer
    B _ W - Woman reading book with wine in natural sunlight - TVS
    Culture 9 of Britain's 10 Bestselling Novels Begin With a Dead Woman. I Asked Authors, Literary Experts and a Criminal Behavioural Analyst Why
     
     
    Madonna's Confessions II: Madonna performs at TSX Stage in Times Square on June 4, 2026 in New York City.
    Culture Madonna's Confessions II Deserves to Be the Album of the Summer, But the Response Proves We Still Punish Women for Ageing
    Lexi Minetree in Elle, the Legally Blonde prequel
    Culture Legally Blonde's Prequel Elle Captures the Lost Joy of Analogue Adolescence
     
     
    Latest in Features
    The Beauty Digest
    Beauty The Beauty Digest: Head Spas, Coco Mademoiselle Reimagined, and What the TPO Ban Really Means
    The long hair trend and the post-bob era
    Hair I’ve Spent Two Years Growing My Bob—Turns Out, There's a Reason Long Hair Is Trending
     
     
    @nlmarilyn in transitional autumn outfits
    Fashion Goodbye Summer Dresses, I'm in Autumn Outfit Planning Mode—These 5 Are Fresh
    Arsenal footballer and Lioness Chloe Kelly
    Health and Fitness Women in Sport 2026: Featuring Chloe Kelly, Elite Beauty Products, Grand Prix 2.0 and So Much More
     
     
    logoCreated with Sketch.
    • Site Archive
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Terms and conditions
    • Advertise with us
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • About us
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire UK is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.