The royal love story of Prince William and comely commoner Kate Middleton captured the hearts of the world, and the Lifetime movieWilliam & Katetakes viewers deep inside the relationship.William & Kateis well acted and no expense was spared to re-create key parts of Scotland and England as a lush backdrop to this modern-day fairy tale. William is played quite competently by Nico Evers-Swindell, and conveys just the right amount of the reserve and wry humor the prince is known for. Camilla Luddington plays Middleton, and her performance is spunky and appealing. The story starts at the beautiful campus of St. Andrews in Scotland, where William and Kate share classes and become friends--Middleton not particularly intimidated by the prince's title, and thinking there's no chance for a romance with a commoner, anyway. So they become good friends, and the rest unfolds as the viewer knows--but with detail and charm added to make the story all the more real. As with any based-on-a-true-story film,William & Katelends itself to the second-guessing of casting. But both Evers-Swindell and Luddington, though not doppelgängers for William and Kate, look enough like their real-life counterparts to be quite believable. However, Ben Cross (Chariots of Fire) is simply too distractingly handsome to be very believable as Prince Charles. Viewers keep having to remind themselves that handsome guy is Prince Charles, which does take away from the flow ofWilliam & Kate. But for fans of the Royal Family, history buffs, and lovers of a sweet modern-day fairy tale,William & Katemakes for splendid viewing indeed. --A.T. Hurley