Merritt Patterson Isn't Afraid Of The Real Royals

E!'s first scripted series, The Royals, is like Gossip Girl meets Britain's royal family, but don't tell the cast that. It's not that they'll deny the Gossip Girl-esque guilty pleasure nature of the show — in fact, star Elizabeth Hurley once said fans of GG and Dynasty will enjoy the show — instead, they want to make it very clear that their royals aren't based on the royal family we all know and love. At the New York premiere of The Royals , star Merritt Patterson says, "The show, even when I read the first episode, was so obviously not the royal family."

Patterson plays Ophelia on the show which is, according to Deadline, "steeped in all of the regal opulence of the British Monarchy and framed by Shakespeare’s Hamlet." (That said, Ophelia is the only character, so far, whose name is from the original play.)

Being the American daughter of the royal family's security advisor and not a royal herself, in the beginning of the first season, Ophelia is the character audiences will most relate to. Asked about whether she believes this is the case, Patterson responds, "I think you’re absolutely right. Especially at the beginning of the show. And then as you get to know the relationships between the other characters you realize that they’re not necessarily as crazy or live this lifestyle that's unimaginable."

So, did she feel any pressure playing the character that bridges the gap between viewers and the extravagant royals? She says, "I felt it was really easy to relate to Ophelia — never being in London, she wasn’t from London. I could relate to her on a lot of levels and I found that comforting. I wasn’t really worried."

To go back to whether the show is based on the current royal family (see above: it isn't) and whether Patterson was nervous about what they would think, she explains, "It's so fun and we had so much fun filming it. They’re not going to be offended."

To get in on the fun yourself, be sure to check out The Royals when it premieres on E!, Sunday, March 15.

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