William and Kate to get Lifetime movie treatment

The movie, reportedly due to air a week before the April 29 nuptials at historic Westminster Abbey, is expected to give the couple the full Lifetime treatment from a network famous for its tear-jerking real-life stories -- including a number of British Royal family movies in recent years.

"William & Kate" tells the story of Prince William, who is second in line to the throne, and "future princess Kate Middleton, the stunning daughter of upper middle-class commoners."

Their friendship, after meeting at St Andrews University in Scotland "blossomed into a romantic love affair, charming the world with their recent engagement and eagerly awaited royal wedding," noted the breathless Lifetime statement on the project.

Following the "ups and downs" of their nine-year relationship, the Lifetime movie will portray a romance "complicated by social and royal family pressures, and intense global media attention surrounding their storybook nuptials."

The part of William will reportedly be played by relatively unknown actor Nico Evers-Swindell, best know for his part in US police procedural drama "NCIS: Los Angeles." The role of Kate has not been confirmed.

William, second in line behind his father Charles, proposed to Kate on holiday in Kenya in October. The couple, both 28, announced their engagement on November 16.

The prince, a Royal Air Force helicopter rescue pilot, gave Middleton the priceless diamond and sapphire engagement ring belonging to Princess Diana, who died in a car crash in Paris in 1997.

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