If you are searching for the cast of the royals season 2, you want a clear guide to who played whom in the second season of The Royals, the fictional drama about a modern British royal family. The cast of the royals season 2 was led by Elizabeth Hurley as Queen Helena, with William Moseley as Prince Liam and Alexandra Park as Princess Eleanor, and it brought back the core ensemble from the first season while adding new faces and deepening the rivalries around the throne. This guide gives a season-two cast list in public-record framing, explains each major character, and sets out how the season developed the stories that the first season had begun.
The Royals began as a drama series centred on a fictional modern monarchy, with palace intrigue, press scrutiny, romance and family conflict at its heart. Season two, which followed the first season, raised the stakes: a new king was on the throne, old secrets threatened the family, and the younger royals struggled with public duty and private desire. The cast had to balance glamour with vulnerability, and the season is remembered for performances that made an invented royal family feel surprisingly human. No streaming or download information is given here, and no availability claims are made; this is a cast and character guide only.
Cast of the Royals Season 2: Main Cast
The cast of the royals season 2 centred on a small group of principals, supported by a wider court of advisers, staff, rivals and love interests. The table below sets out the main players and their characters, followed by fuller notes on each performance.
| Actor | Character | Role in season two |
|---|---|---|
| Elizabeth Hurley | Queen Helena | The formidable queen mother, protecting the family image at any cost |
| William Moseley | Prince Liam | The younger prince, torn between duty and his own conscience |
| Alexandra Park | Princess Eleanor | The rebellious princess, seeking freedom from palace life |
| Jake Maskall | King Cyrus | The new king, whose reign brings fresh conflict to the family |
| Tom Austen | Jasper Frost | Former bodyguard turned confidant, closely tied to Eleanor |
| Oliver Milburn | Ted Pryce | Head of palace security, balancing loyalty and duty |
| Merritt Patterson | Ophelia Pryce | Ted Pryce’s daughter, whose relationship with Liam complicates palace politics |
| Vincent Regan | King Simon, in flashback and memory | The late king, whose death continues to shape the family |
Elizabeth Hurley as Queen Helena
Elizabeth Hurley led the cast of the royals season 2 as Queen Helena, the matriarch of the fictional family. Helena is elegant, sharp-tongued and fiercely protective of the monarchy as an institution, even when that protection requires uncomfortable choices. In season two she must adjust to a new order after the death of her husband, King Simon, and to the reign of Cyrus, her brother-in-law, whom she distrusts. Hurley’s performance keeps Helena sympathetic even when her methods are ruthless: the audience understands that she believes she is saving the family, not merely saving herself.
Helena’s season-two storylines turn on control. She manages the press, manages her children, and manages the court’s view of events, often several steps ahead of everyone else. At the same time, the season shows her private grief and her complicated feelings about power, love and loyalty. That combination of public steel and private feeling is what made Helena the centre of the series, and Hurley’s screen presence, honed over a long career in film and television, gave the character authority from her first scene.
William Moseley and Alexandra Park as Liam and Eleanor
William Moseley returned as Prince Liam, the younger son who had been thrust towards the throne by tragedy in season one. In season two, Liam is no longer simply the spare prince: he is a young man trying to define his own moral code in a family where image often matters more than truth. His relationship with Ophelia Pryce, the daughter of the head of security, remains a source of tension, because it crosses the line between the royal family and the staff who protect it. Moseley plays Liam with earnestness and restraint, which makes his moments of rebellion feel earned rather than theatrical.
Alexandra Park returned as Princess Eleanor, Liam’s twin sister and the most openly rebellious member of the family. Eleanor chafes against palace protocol, pursues her own pleasures and romances, and resists every attempt to turn her into a conventional princess. In season two her relationship with Jasper Frost, played by Tom Austen, deepens from a guarded attraction into one of the season’s central emotional threads. Park gives Eleanor wit and vulnerability in equal measure, so that her defiance reads as a search for authenticity rather than mere mischief.
Together, Liam and Eleanor represent the two faces of the younger generation: duty and freedom. Their scenes together, often sharp and affectionate, anchor the family drama and remind viewers that beneath the crowns and ceremonies, the series is about siblings trying to grow up under extraordinary pressure.
Jake Maskall as King Cyrus
Jake Maskall’s King Cyrus is the disruptive force of season two. Cyrus, the brother of the late King Simon, takes the throne and brings a very different style of kingship: more indulgent, more impulsive and more willing to use power for personal ends. His reign creates a natural conflict with Helena, who sees herself as the guardian of the family’s dignity, and with Liam and Eleanor, who resent his authority. Maskall plays Cyrus with charm and menace, often in the same scene, which keeps the audience uncertain about how far he will go.
Cyrus also brings new characters and alliances into the palace, shifting the balance of power among the courtiers. His presence tests the loyalty of the staff, including Ted Pryce, and forces every member of the family to choose sides. In a series built on intrigue, Cyrus functions as both antagonist and catalyst: without him, season two would have far less momentum, and his scenes with Hurley’s Helena are among the season’s most entertaining confrontations.
Supporting Cast and New Faces in Season Two
Beyond the principals, the cast of the royals season 2 included a strong supporting ensemble. Tom Austen’s Jasper Frost moves in season two from bodyguard to a more intimate role in Eleanor’s life, and Austen’s dry, watchful performance makes Jasper one of the most popular characters in the series. Oliver Milburn’s Ted Pryce provides a grounded counterweight to the royal glamour: as head of security, he must serve the family while protecting his daughter, and Milburn plays that divided loyalty with quiet authority.
Merritt Patterson’s Ophelia Pryce remains central to Liam’s story. Ophelia is an outsider to royal life who understands its costs better than most insiders, and Patterson gives her intelligence and independence. Her position, as both Liam’s love interest and the daughter of a senior staff member, makes her a natural bridge between the palace and the world outside it. Other recurring players, including palace staff, courtiers, journalists and romantic rivals, fill out the world and give the season its sense of a court with its own politics, gossip and hierarchies.
Season two also used flashbacks and references to King Simon, played by Vincent Regan, to keep the first season’s tragedy present in the story. Simon’s death is not simply backstory; it shapes Helena’s grief, Liam’s sense of duty and Cyrus’s claim to the throne. That continuity is one of the strengths of the season: new viewers can follow the main relationships, while returning viewers see earlier events pay off in new ways.
How Season Two Developed the Story
Season two developed the first season’s themes in three directions. First, it explored the question of who should rule, as Cyrus’s reign challenged the family’s sense of legitimacy. Second, it deepened the romantic storylines, particularly Liam and Ophelia and Eleanor and Jasper, testing whether love can survive palace scrutiny. Third, it showed the press and public as active forces in the story, not merely background: a royal family in the modern world lives under constant observation, and season two made that observation part of the plot.
For readers interested in other ensemble casts, our guides to the cast of According to Jim and the cast members of Bewitched follow a similar approach, while the guide to Bash from Reign looks at another fictional take on royal history. Each guide focuses on characters and performances rather than on where a series can be found.
Cast of the Royals Season 2: Frequently Asked Questions
Who played Queen Helena in season two?
Elizabeth Hurley played Queen Helena in the cast of the royals season 2, returning from the first season as the family’s matriarch and the series’ central figure.
Who played Prince Liam and Princess Eleanor?
William Moseley played Prince Liam and Alexandra Park played Princess Eleanor, the twin siblings at the heart of the younger generation’s storylines in season two.
Who was the king in season two?
Jake Maskall played King Cyrus in season two, succeeding the late King Simon, played by Vincent Regan, whose death continued to shape the family’s story.
Did the main cast change between season one and season two?
The core cast remained largely the same, with the principals returning and the balance of power shifting as Cyrus took the throne and new supporting characters joined the court.
Cast of the Royals Season 2: Why the Ensemble Worked
What made the cast of the royals season 2 work was balance. The cast of the royals season 2 did not rely on a single star, even though Elizabeth Hurley supplied much of its glamour and authority. Instead, the cast of the royals season 2 paired established performers with younger actors who could carry romantic and dramatic storylines of their own, and it surrounded both groups with supporting players who made the palace feel like a workplace as well as a home. That balance explains why season two could move quickly between a state occasion, a private argument and a comic exchange without losing its tone. It also explains why the season rewards rewatching: scenes that first seem decorative often turn out to set up a later betrayal, a revelation or a change of allegiance, and the ensemble playing keeps those shifts believable even when the plot turns extravagant.
Conclusion
The cast of the royals season 2 combined star presence with ensemble depth. Elizabeth Hurley anchored the series as Queen Helena, William Moseley and Alexandra Park carried the younger generation’s story as Liam and Eleanor, and Jake Maskall’s Cyrus gave the season its central conflict. Around them, Tom Austen, Oliver Milburn, Merritt Patterson and the wider supporting cast built a palace world that felt busy, political and emotionally real. That combination is why season two remains the reference point for many viewers when they discuss the series: it kept the glamour of the first season, raised the dramatic stakes, and gave each major character a storyline worth following to the end.
