The Crown: How Prince Harry child actor star of Netflix drama beat leukaemia

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Will made his debut as Prince Harry in the latest series of The Crown

Fans of Netflix hit series ‘The Crown’ will have enjoyed being introduced to a range of new characters in the show’s fifth series. One of the new faces is a young Prince Harry, who is played by Will Powell.

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What fans may not know is that Will had a battle on his hands before he had even turned two. Back in 2011, at just 21 months old, Will was diagnosed with leukaemia. He required daily chemotherapy, which his parents administered at home for the next three and a half years.

After a total of 27 operations at Sheffield Children’s Hospital, Will finally entered remission in July 2014, and was then given the all-clear. At the time his dad Andy said: “Throughout everything he was a superstar – our little boy never complained once.”

Eight years after entering remission, Will starred in the Netflix show as the young prince during what was a turbulent period for the Royal Familyin the early 1990s. Will’s adventure started when his mum Michelle spotted a casting call for Prince William. She got in touch with the producers to say they didn’t have a William, but they might well have a Harry!

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Andy explained the process behind Will applying for the role. He said: “Will was asked to provide a self-tape at first. He got to the last four, then two, and then finally he had an interview with the casting director via Skype. The next day we got the news that he’d been successful!

“He was treated like a star from day one. A big car picked him up and took him to London for a medical, and then myself and Will were taken to a hotel where we stayed for three days during which he filmed his first scenes. Several other days of filming followed at different locations. He was hooked!”

Will, Andy and MichelleWill, Andy and Michelle
Will, Andy and Michelle

Then came the wait while the series was produced and edited, but finally the big day came.

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Andy added: “We were bursting with excitement! We had to wait until the evening of the launch day to watch as we were driving back from the premiere in London. We binge watched until we had seen all of Will’s scenes.

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