The Crown recreates William and Harry's welcome on 1998 Canada tour

Willsmania is back! The Crown recreates Prince of Wales and Duke of Sussex’s popstar welcome on 1998 tour of Canada — but is that really meant to be Harry at 13?

• The Crown has recreated Prince William’s and Harry’s 1998 Vancouver tour
• READ MORE: Dominic West transforms into Charles to film Canadian tour scenes

Of all the emotionally charged scenes in TV series The Crown’s history, the re-creation of ‘Willsmania’ must be one to offer some light relief.

Throngs of excitable young women line the streets to film Prince William’s trip to Vancouver, during which the 15-year-old heir to the throne was dubbed a ‘British Leonardo DiCaprio’.

These exclusive images, appropriately filmed in London’s Canada Square, depict the mini Royal tour of March 1998, which came just seven months after the death of Princess Diana.

At the time William was said to be unsettled by the pop-star welcome, and that’s perfectly portrayed here by actor Ed McVey’s shy body language. An onlooker said: ‘The actor played the blushing and embarrassed Prince perfectly while the girls in the crowd were going wild.’

Bizarrely, however, Harry – aged 13 at the time of the tour, is played by Luther Ford, an actor already in his 20s.

HYSTERIA: The Crown recreates the Vancouver crowds

Ed McVey as Prince William as The Crown recreates the famous 1998 Vancouver tour where he was mobbed by well wishers

Prince Harry, age 13 at the time, walks past cheering teenage girls in Vancouver in March 1998

Luther Ford (pictured), who is in his 20s, will be playing 13-year-old Harry in The Crown

The main purpose of the trip was to give Charles, William and Harry some private time together in the Rocky Mountain ski resort of Whistler. But before they could take to the slopes, the trio spent 24 hours in Vancouver.

Thousands turned out for a glimpse of the eldest brother, with the Netflix show recreating many of the banners bearing slogans such as ‘We love you William’ and ‘I will be your Queen’.

Two signs in The Crown’s re-creation refer to ‘Royal Hotness’, which eagle-eyed Royal watchers say was not a known phrase until it was used for Pippa Middleton, a bridesmaid at her sister Kate’s wedding to William in 2011.

The sixth and final series of The Crown will take viewers from the late 1990s to the early 2000s. Imelda Staunton reprises her role as the Queen and Dominic West plays Charles.

Prince William receives flowers from the crowd at Canada Place in Vancouver

Charles, and Princes William and Harry being greeted at Canada Place in Vancouver in 1998

Teenage girls who are fans of Prince William scream as they greet him like a pop star upon his arrival in Vancouver

Prince William’s teenage fans hand him roses in Vancouver as his bodyguard watches on

William’s fans in Vancouver with one holding a sign saying: ‘William it’s me you’ve been looking for’

Prince William (left), Prince Harry (left of right) and Charles (right of right) arriving at The Waterfront Hotel in Vancouver, Canada on March 23 1998

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