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Queen Camilla can give competition to Meghan Markle in one aspect. Author Peter James wants the Queen to appear in the ITV crime drama Grace. He also hopes King Charles will join her. James plans to ask Camilla to play herself in the show. He shared the idea with Daily Mail diary editor Richard Eden at Brighton Palace Pier. 

He was there to launch his latest novel, Dead In Three Two One. “I’m going to ask Camilla if she’d like to play herself in Grace,” he said. James’ bestselling Roy Grace books follow a Sussex Police detective who solves serious crimes. ITV turned the novels into a drama starring John Simm. James has already written Charles and Camilla into one of his thrillers, The Hawk Is Dead. 

In the book, they help Grace investigate the murder of a royal aide. When Eden asked who should play Camilla opposite Simm, James replied, “I would choose Camilla.” The author also wants Charles to return to acting. “I’d love to see Charles in The Hawk, too,” he said. “He did some acting at school, and I’d love to see him take it up again.” 

Charles had acted in school plays before. At Gordonstoun, he played Macbeth and the Duke of Exeter in Henry V. Camilla has already visited the Grace set. She dropped by in 2021 while the team filmed Dead Tomorrow. She even offered to play a corpse. James also had plenty of good things to say about Camilla. 

“Camilla’s up for a laugh, and she’s really good fun,” he said. He added, “I love her sense of humour – it would be so cool if she starred in it.” This came as Meghan Markle made headlines over reports linking her to Netflix’s The Gentlemen. The Duchess of Sussex is best known for playing Rachel Zane in the U.S. legal drama, Suits. 

Reports in August 2026 claimed Markle was in talks to join the crime series. But she ultimately didn’t join the cast. A friend of Markle’s told The Telegraph that some people in her camp felt she was used to promote Season 2. They believed the show needed a boost after its first season. 

Season two didn’t match the first season’s opening numbers, drawing 6.7 million global views in its first four days. The friend also claimed Netflix had already greenlit a third season. “It’s the oldest marketing trick in the book,” the friend said. They claimed a big name could be asked to read a script.

They claimed reports could leak that talks were underway, even when nothing much had happened. A source close to the show pushed back on that claim. “This is not a show in need of stunt casting,” the insider told The Times. 

The rumors surfaced around the time Harry and Markle returned to the U.K. with their two children in August. The family is believed to be staying in the Cotswolds. On October 15, the couple made their first joint public appearance in Britain since returning. They visited Nottingham for three engagements. 

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