Merritt Patterson plays Ophelia on The Royals, an exciting new show that centers around a modern-day British monarchy and stars Elizabeth Hurley as Queen Helena. While Ophelia would be considered a commoner (she's the daughter of the Royal Head of Security), that doesn't mean that she's afraid of anyone. Even the queen!
E! News chatted with Merritt about the upcoming premiere of her new show, what it was like being on set in London, her favorite shopping spots, and so much more!
Currently on a break from filming, the young actress has been enjoying some downtime in Los Angeles, which she enjoys because it's "nice and warm." When she isn't busy doing publicity for The Royals, she manages to fit in some auditions in between spending her time where she enjoys it the most—outdoors.
"I really enjoy being outside in LA because it's so warm and sunny," she said. "Which we don't get a ton of back home (Canada), so I try to take full advantage of that, whether it's going out to Santa Monica or Venice. I've been to Newport a few times because I have a girlfriend that lives down there. I also enjoy doing the Griffith Park hike. Being outside and being in the sun is great for me."
Despite the fact that she's enjoying her downtime, Merritt also looks forward to returning to the set ultimately to start shooting the second season of The Royals, which she says has been a "wonderful experience" thus far.
"I really enjoyed being in London," she explained. "It was amazing that we actually got to shoot there. The cast and crew were incredible, all of us got along so well, which is a huge bonus when you're on set working with people day in and day out. It was really fun and we were always looking forward to getting the next script because with the writers you never knew what was coming."
In addition to the great cast, crew and writing, another perk of working on the show was the fashion. Merritt's own fashion sense relates to that of the character she plays on the show, which proved to be an enjoyable and comfortable experience.
"Ophelia's style is definitely the most casual, especially through the first few episodes," Merritt pointed out. "But I also think it's great because she has an attainable wardrobe as opposed to the amazing outfits that the princess gets to wear, which is all high-end designers so I thought that was really kind of great. I generally wear jeans and a T-shirt, very comfortable."
Merritt also dished on her favorite shopping locations in Los Angeles, London and Canada, confessing that when it comes down to it, jeans and sporty clothes are her absolute favorite.
"All Saints was really cool," she said. "I'd never been there before until I came to London. I really like Rag & Bone jeans, I wear a lot of those. Zara is great. I also really like a lot of sporty stuff, so I've been wearing Lululemon and Nike stuff. In Canada there's Aritzia, where I shop a lot when I'm home. They have a great range of clothing."
While Merritt's character on the show may be sweet, that doesn't mean that Ophelia can avoid falling into a love triangle...or two!
"Obviously there's a love triangle between me, the prince and Gemma," Merritt explained. "Which is really fun to watch because you want to root for Ophelia but Gemma is such a great character and you come to understand her, so Ophelia never hates Gemma, which I think is kind of standard when it comes to love triangles."
She adds, "Seeing relationships progress with her dad, the king and queen. It's fun."
And how does the young star of a new show plan to celebrate the upcoming premiere?
"I would love to watch it with family and friends," Merritt said. "I'm not 100% sure where I'll be when it airs, so that will kind of decide for me, but hopefully I'll be watching it and I'll be tweeting and I know the cast is going to New York in March for the premiere, which will be exciting."
E!'s new scripted series The Royals premieres March 15 at 10 p.m.! Follow The Royals on Twitter and Facebook for the latest updates!