A Kate opportunity!

The Crown advertises for actress to play Duchess when she was a student who captivated William

HER path to meeting the prince of her dreams is the stuff of fairy tales.

But the quest to find an actress to play the young Kate Middleton on this magical journey in Netflix’s final series of The Crown has taken a decidedly less romantic turn.

The streaming giant last week took out a job advertisement calling for an aspiring starlet to play the future Duchess of Cambridge.

The ad, placed on the Netflix website, inadvertently revealed that season six of the Royal drama will include scenes from her courtship with Prince William at St Andrews University.

It is almost certain that producers will want the successful candidate to recreate the famous scene of Kate, now 40, striding down the catwalk at a student fashion show wearing a black see-through dress.

That was reportedly the moment when her romantic potential first registered with William, who had paid £200 for a front-row seat for the event during their second year at the Scottish university in March 2002.

Before then, he and Kate are thought to have lived a few doors apart at St Salvator’s hall of residence, where they socialised together and even played tennis.

The Netflix ad states production staff are seeking an actress with a ‘strong physical resemblance’ to the young Kate and includes three photographs of her, including one from 2004 showing her in a tweed skirt with a matching coat draped over her shoulder.

Casting director Robert Sterne is asking candidates to send in a selfie along with a 30-second video of themselves talking about something that they ‘love’. The ad states that no previous acting experience is required.

Selection will almost certainly turn the young actress into a global star, much as it did for Emma Corrin when she was plucked from relative obscurity to play a young Diana Spencer in series four.

The Netflix casting call reassuringly adds that the streaming giant is experienced at providing support for young stars and their families.

Storylines delving into the lives of the Cambridges during their time at university could upset William.

It was a period when he was allowed to live largely free from media scrutiny. Two years ago, he was said to be unhappy at the depiction of his family in series four, claiming his parents were being ‘exploited to make money’.

The Crown has repeatedly angered the Royal Family, with friends of Prince Charles describing it as ‘trolling on a Hollywood budget’.

Netflix has already cast actors to play William, now 39, and Harry, 37, as teenagers in series five.