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The Royals' Merritt Patterson Gives the Scoop on Life as a Gypsy, Her Favorite Shows and Much More

The Royals' star talks about her gypsy lifestyle

By Kamala Kirk Mar 10, 2015 10:24 PMTags

Merritt Patterson stars alongside Elizabeth Hurley on The Royals, the upcoming original series that centers around the chaotic lives of a fictional modern-day British monarchy. The fresh-faced starlet plays Ophelia, the daughter of the royal family's head of security, who happens to fall for Queen Helena's son, Prince Liam (William Moseley).

She recalls her initial reaction to seeing the pilot for the first time, which completely surprised her.

"It was kind of chopped up," Merritt said. "It was bizarre because we filmed a lot of scenes months out of order, so the scene were Alex and I were out on the balcony was the last scene we shot and it was weird to see it in the first episode. I think Mark was very on it. He spent a lot of time in the writer's room so they had to get what they needed. I think everything will make it. You do forget some of the things that are happening. There are some pretty shocking scenes in the show."

Amanda Edwards/WireImage

Two of Merritt's favorite things about working on the show were her incredible co-stars and the travel perks.

"There were so many things," she points out. "The cast—we all get along so well because we spent so much time together and that was a huge plus. Traveling is a huge passion of mine and to get to go to all these locations and get to know them and film all over the city was incredible. I got lucky because Ophelia is a well-rounded character who is very much out of her element and I had never  been to London, so it worked to my favor being out of my element. I am a gypsy. I'm from Canada and I got rid of my apartment and I'm all over the place. "

And what are some of Merritt's favorite television shows (besides The Royals) of course?

"Game of Thrones is my favorite show," Merritt said. "I love Peter Dinklage and Arya—I think she's a bad-ass with her little sword. I also love Orange Is the New Black, House of Cards, New Girl—there's so much good quality stuff."

E!'s new scripted series The Royals premieres this Sunday, March 15 at 10 p.m.! Follow The Royals on Twitter and Facebook for the latest updates!