Hurley stars as Queen Helena, a fictional contemporary queen consort of The United Kingdom, along with William Moseley and Alexandra Park as her twin children, Prince Liam and Princess Eleanor; Jake Maskall as Helena's brother-in-law and nemesis, the new King Cyrus; Tom Austen as Eleanor's bodyguard and blackmailer, Jasper Frost; and Oliver Milburn as Ted Pryce, the Royal Family's head of security.

Season 1 also starred Vincent Regan as Helena's husband, King Simon, and Merritt Patterson as Liam's love interest, Ophelia Pryce.

[3][4] Twins Prince Liam and Princess Eleanor enjoy the hedonistic pleasures available to them as royals, knowing that their older brother Robert bears the responsibility of being heir to the throne of England.

Unexpectedly next in line for the throne, Liam must adjust to his new role while navigating his attraction to Ophelia, the American daughter of the royal head of security.

announced several scripted projects in development, including The Royals, "a contemporary family ensemble… steeped in all of the regal opulence of the British Monarchy and framed by Shakespeare's Hamlet.

's Executive Vice President of Original Programming & Development Jeff Olde noted that production for season two would begin in London in spring 2015.

[10] Additional recurring roles included Bewley and Preston as Cyrus' eccentric daughters Penelope and Maribel,[40] and Colquhoun as Gemma, Liam's heiress ex-girlfriend.

[42][43][44] In June 2015, Laila Rouass was cast as Rani, the Deputy Prime Minister whom the actress calls "Elizabeth Hurley's arch-enemy".

[45] For season 2, Hatty Preston was replaced as Princess Maribel with Jerry-Jane Pears, the difference in their appearance explained by plastic surgery.

'[51]Regan said of his character, the "soft-spoken" King Simon: "He's coping with a great deal of grief for the loss of his eldest son, Robert ...

[54] In March 2015, a viral video of a naked man climbing out a window of Buckingham Palace on a bedsheet during the changing of the Queen's Guard, presumed to be a hoax, was publicized internationally by a variety of media outlets.

Jane Mulkerrins of The Telegraph described The Royals as "a sexy and soapy portrayal of palace life", but noted that it "lacks the sophistication" of Gossip Girl and "the compelling melodrama" of The O.C.

[58] Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times called the show "a mischievous sendup" and Hurley "amusing", but said overall that the series "gets old, and dull, very quickly.

"[50] Nancy Dewolf Smith of The Wall Street Journal described The Royals as "a trashy soap opera that's not bad enough to be funny and is best when it wallows in melodrama",[59] and David Wiegand of the San Francisco Chronicle called the show "entertaining but disappointingly toothless".

[60] The Sydney Morning Herald described the series as "possibly the worst show in the history of TV", criticizing it as "a bunch of bed-hopping halfwits saddled with ... very, very lousy dialogue".

"[63] The Hollywood Reporter described The Royals as being "like an extended MTV music video interspersed with dialogue" and called it "interminably boring".

[64] The Los Angeles Times panned the series, declaring that "camp requires courage, and The Royals has none",[65] while Margaret Lyons of Vulture said the show was "flaccid, weirdly paced, and badly cast.

"[66] Variety called The Royals "bloody bad",[2] and the Chicago Reader advised viewers to "think of the worst hour-long prime-time soap operas to have assaulted our senses over the past 30 or so years, then go ahead and add this one to your brain's trash heap.

"[67] Conversely, David Hinckley of the New York Daily News wrote that The Royals "doesn't pretend to be much more than good fun, and it delivers that.

"[68] Diane Gordon of TheWrap described the show as "addictive, naughty and just the right amount of silly ... it left me wanting more".

[71] Wiegand added, "The unquestionable highlight of the series is the mother-and-daughter reunion between Queen Helena [Hurley] and the Grand Duchess of Oxford [Joan Collins]".

[60] Dewolf Smith singled out Park's Eleanor as "the best and worst of what The Royals has to offer" and noted that Hatty Preston and Lydia Rose Bewley "steal their scenes in an Absolutely Fabulous sort of way".

[108] Outside of the SVOD and cable subscription space, the show is available from electronic sell-through platforms such as iTunes,[109] Amazon Instant Video[110] and Vudu.