The Crown: Welsh teen Fflyn Edwards on playing Prince Harry

Fflyn acts alongside big stars like Dominic West, who plays the-then Prince Charles, but says his friends and family won't let fame go to his head

Imagine navigating high school while millions of eyes are glued to your performance on the biggest show on the planet.

That's the case for 14-year-old Fflyn Edwards, who plays a young Prince Harry in the new and final series of Netflix's The Crown.

The Carmarthenshire teenager said being away from home, tackling a Windsor-family accent, and living with his Harry wig was hard - but the big challenge has been all the attention.

"My mamgu [grandmother] gives me enough attention... I don't want a big head," he said.

The final season of The Crown will be released on 16 November and recreates some of the most iconic royal scenes, including the death and funeral of Princess Diana.

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For Fflyn, who said he had not watched The Crown before being cast, getting the role felt like a long shot - and his casting was almost scuppered by a day at the beach.

"We were down in St Davids [and] I was down the beach playing with my friends. My mam came down, painted me in suntan lotion, and said I got the role - but [said] I wouldn't be allowed it if I had a tan.

"So mam was painting me and painting me."

Fflyn Edwards stars alongside Elizabeth Debicki and Rufus Kampa, who portray Princess Diana and Prince William

Fflyn said he watched a lot of YouTube videos of interviews with Harry to try to perfect his accent - and lose his west Walian one.

A bigger challenge, he said, was sporting the wig that gave him Harry's distinctive red hair, especially while filming on location in Spain.

He said: "It was kind of annoying because it would take about an hour and a half every morning, and they would gel my hair back and put a sock on it and then put the wig on.

"When I wanted to itch my head I couldn't because I was worried about moving it out of place.

"It was a bit of a nightmare because it was like wearing a beanie hat and it was absolutely boiling."

Adjusting to speaking English all day was also a learning curve for Fflyn, whose first language is Welsh.

Other Welsh actors on set reminded him of home, he said, adding: "It was nice really because I was far from home [so it was good] to see Welsh people and speak the language with them.

"Talking in English for a long time does make me miss the language, and speaking to someone [in Welsh] does feel like home."

Fflyn Edwards says he did a lot of research to get his portrayal of Harry right

Netflix has spent millions on sets for The Crown in the past, with this season no exception.

Fflyn said he was not prepared for the scale of the production, having never worked on one so big.

"It was a total adventure because every morning we wake up and we went somewhere new," he said.

"We go into this warehouse and you'll be in Buckingham Palace, and it was so weird because outside it would look like wood and then you walk in and you'll be in the Queen's bedroom.

"It was really cool to see all the other outfits of the characters too."

He added: "It was really a pleasure to work on the set, because a lot of people were amazing and were putting in the effort to make it the best series it can be.

"I was really nice to be a little part of it and to be able to add to it."

Fflyn says he became great friends with Rufus Kampa, who plays a young Prince William

Fflyn said he doesn't see many similarities with Harry, but the role has led to him learning much about the royal.

"[I like] the cheeky side and the funniness when he was younger, but as a boy from Cwm Gwendraeth I think I've sort of got that [already].

"But I think anyone who has lived their life in the public eye, they have that pressure to be a good example. And we've all got to respect that because it is a lot of pressure and, personally, I have no idea what it feels like."

The teenager said he had to trust himself to do some of Harry's scenes justice, and that it helped that he did not know much about the prince's history beforehand.

"I did my research and put the effort in and I was happy with how I did it. I trust myself that it was good enough."

As much as Fflyn had fun on set, he is unsure where his future will take him.

He wants to study geography, adding: "I think I will just take it one step at the time and see what happens."

But will the role get Fflyn watching the show?

"A lot of people put a lot of effort into it. It is history and it is good to watch it because you can get informed what has happened," he said.

"I might start to watch it, but for now I might stick to the rugby."

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