Bucharest, May 30: Barely a month after their fairy-tale wedding, a new film depicting the budding romance of Prince William and Kate Middleton is being rushed out for television viewers.
A mixture of fact and fiction, "William & Kate: A Royal Love Story" is expected to be released in August on the Hallmark Channel.
Director Linda Yellen took some time out from filming at MediaPro Studios in Romania to speak with AP which was allowed exclusive TV access on the set.
The American was also producer of CBS's "The Royal Romance of Charles and Diana" in 1982, a film that had a huge audience at the time.
The couple was married on April 29 in a lavish ceremony at Westminster Abbey watched by millions. Filming began in early May.
Yellen called the movie a tribute not only to William and Kate but also to Princess Diana, whom she met three times.
Yellen, whose father died on the first day of shooting the film, said her loss made her better understand some of the scenes where William communicates with his mother in a spiritual way.
"God works in mysterious ways to unveil things to us and I think that's in this movie," she said,
Yellen wrote the script in two weeks, after she saw William had given Diana's ring to Middleton.
While using real events and words that were told in real life, there are also dialogues she's written and situations she imagined.
One such scene depicts William's 21st birthday party, with Kate and William dancing together as Queen Elizabeth II looks on.
Guests are dressed in vividly coloured African costumes with tables laid for a feast in a large hall with ornate arcades.
There are statues of elephants and potted palm trees in the background as Kate and William are having fun - and falling in love.
British actress Alice St. Clair, who plays Middleton, said the film - her first - is a series of snapshots of the relationship between the couple which tracks their developing friendship.
She said it shows "this friendship that William and her have ... that they share this sense of humour."
American actor Dan Amboyer, who plays William, called the film a "modern fairy tale".
Amboyer, who made his debut in the "Law & Order" series, said the "script is smart, is fun, there is real wit between them. It's not at all schmaltzy."
In the film, the two meet by chance when William bumps into Kate who was carrying laundry.
Amboyer said his character learns from her about ordinary things such as cooking a meal or doing the laundry.
There are friends, parties, the break-up, the makeup and of course the British royal family.
Oscar-nominated Jane Alexander is Queen Elizabeth II, a grandmother pondering whether Kate is right for Will and for the throne.
"We don't show a lot of disapproval or doubt," she said, "but you see her (the queen) questioning Kate about her public speaking, about what she calls training.""I think she is trying to make sure that what happened with Diana and Charles does not happen with Kate and Will," Alexander said. AP
