Kate Middleton Loved One Tree Hill, So if You Watch The Royals You’ll Marry a Prince (Duh)

Creator Mark Schwahn explains how he hopes new E! show will be regarded by the real royal family

By Kristin Dos Santos Mar 09, 2015 5:23 PMTags
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, Catherine, Duchess of CambridgeChris Jackson/Getty Images

The Royals premieres this Sunday on E!, and if you watch it, you will end up marrying a prince.

OK, so that's probably not gonna happen, but it did for another particular TV fan who loved the last show created by Mark SchwahnOne Tree Hill.

Her name? Kate Middleton.

"I was told Will and Kate were big fans," Schwahn tells me. "I was approached about season four of five of One Tree Hill. And they said, ‘William and Kate love the show. They watch it all the time. Can we put together some box sets for them? Can we send along some stuff?' Obviously they were dating. And I said, ‘Cool. Let's send them some stuff!'"

Schwahn hopes that  Will and Kate would have visited the show's set, and not Gossip Girl, when they came to visit, if his show only had been shooting in New York.

"They were clearly Team Naley [Nathan and Haley]," he jokes.

The Royals, starring Elizabeth Hurley as a badass Queen of England, focuses on a fictious royal family. Its decadent naughtiness—complete with drugs, sex and X-rated photos making the front cover—combined with heart-tugging romance and tragedy (the queen's oldest son dies in the first episode) is what makes the show so delicious to watch. But given all the explicitness, what will the real royal family think? Including OTH's most notable fans, Will and Kate?

VIDEO: Watch sneak peeks of The Royals!

E! Entertainment

"Obviously," Schwahn explains, "people are concerned about where the line is drawn between the royal family and our royal family, and we have taken great pains to distance ourselves. And when you see our show you go, ‘OK, this is very different.'"

He's also hoping his former OTH fans will dig this show. "I would love for Will and Kate to be fans of the show, and it would really bother me if people thought that we were attacking the actual monarchy. I'm a big fan, actually. I think it's relevant and important, and I love being able to go to London and see the history, touch the history and be fascinated by it."

And hey, if watching all the relationship drama on Schwahn's last show worked out so well for Will and Kate, why can't it work for you?

"Who knows what The Royals can do for your relationships?" Schwahn muses, with a laugh. "You're gonna have beautiful children. So watch The Royals. You'll meet a prince. You'll get married. You'll have beautiful children and you'll be happy forever."

Worst case scenario: You'll get to enjoy some really good TV.

Watch the trailer below and tune in this Sunday at 10/9 C...