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The Harry Potter television sets opened for a single night, and it happened to be the night some unexpected visitors showed up. Kate Middleton walked in with George, Charlotte, and little Louis. The crew was working at Hogsmeade Station, rebuilt in Windsor Great Park. Just one evening of filming, no schedule beyond that, which gave the whole thing a rare feeling, almost like stumbling onto something you were not supposed to see.
It is unusual for a production moment to overlap with the presence of the royal family. The contrast between cameras, lights, actors in costume, and the simple fact that three young heirs walked into the same space gave the night a rare atmosphere. For those who were there, it turned into a memory linked to the beginning of this long project.
Meeting cast and crew
Reports confirm that Kate and the children met the young actors taking on the central roles. Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter. Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley. Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger. Names that will soon become familiar when the series reaches the screen. Director Mark Mylod was also on set that evening, guiding the shoot. The encounter was not staged as an event; it happened around the work already in progress.
Louis and the train
What drew the most attention was Prince Louis. He was invited onto the Hogwarts Express. Not just to look around but to ride with the driver. Accounts from the set describe how much he enjoyed it. A detail that matches what many children would imagine for themselves: stepping aboard the famous train that, in the books, leaves King’s Cross and heads to Hogwarts. A small window of time, yet for him it became the highlight.
William elsewhere
Prince William was not present. While the Princess of Wales and the children visited Windsor Great Park, he was in Scotland with King Charles III. That absence was noted, but the focus remained on Kate guiding George, Charlotte, and Louis through the short experience on set.
Royal connections with the franchise
This was not the first time the royal family crossed paths with Harry Potter. In 2013, William and Kate visited Warner Bros. Studios in London, walking through Diagon Alley and exploring props from the original films. On that occasion, they also announced a scholarship program related to film and television.
There are other links too. Queen Camilla once explained that King Charles used to read the Harry Potter books to the grandchildren, performing different voices for the characters. That habit, remembered again in coverage of this latest visit, shows how the stories became part of family life, beyond their global popularity.
The production of the new Harry Potter series
The new Harry Potter series was first revealed in 2023, a joint project from Warner Bros. Discovery and HBO. The plan sounds straightforward when said out loud: each season tied to a single book. It begins with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and runs all the way to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. What makes it different is the space television offers. Seven books stretched across seasons, with room to linger where the eight films, between 2001 and 2011, had to rush past.
Filming continues across Europe. The first season is scheduled to premiere in 2027. Alongside the young trio, a cast of established actors has been confirmed: John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid, and Lox Pratt as Draco Malfoy. More recently, Daniel Rigby was seen filming scenes as Vernon Dursley in Hoddesdon.
A detail in the larger picture
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The visit by Kate Middleton and her children now sits alongside these production milestones. Not a public launch, not a press event, just a brief intersection between royalty and a story that has been part of British culture for decades. The night at Windsor Great Park offered a glimpse of how reality and fiction sometimes overlap, producing an image that will stay connected to the early life of the series.
The road to release is long. Two years until the first season, and much work is still ahead. But episodes like this keep the anticipation alive. A single night of filming, a ride on the Hogwarts Express, and the memory of a royal family sharing the same space where Hogwarts comes back to life.
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