“The Crown”'s Meg Bellamy on What People 'Really Love' About Kate Middleton (Exclusive)

Meg Bellamy tells PEOPLE why she thinks the Princess of Wales effortlessly connects with the public

Meg Bellamy has a unique take on Kate Middleton after playing the future Princess of Wales in The Crown.

Bellamy, who makes her professional acting debut in the sixth and final season of the Netflix drama inspired by the lives of the British royal family, exclusively tells PEOPLE what struck her about the royal as she studied for the role.

The newcomer, 21, played the only variation of Kate in The Crown, which debuted in 2016 and changed casts every two seasons to reflect aging through the decades of Queen Elizabeth’s reign. Part 1 of season 6 premiered on Nov. 16 and imagined Princess Diana’s final weeks before her death in August 1997. Part 2, out Dec. 14, will take the show into the early 2000s and reenact how Kate and Prince William (played by Ed McVey) fell for each other at college.

Related: Kate Middleton Wears a Tiara While Her Counterpart from The Crown Hits the Red Carpet

“It’s not necessarily surprising what I learned about Kate because she didn't grow up in this royal household. Her roots are roots that people can really connect to because she went to school and had a very supportive family and went to university,” Bellamy tells PEOPLE of Kate’s background, referring to her youth with parents Carole and Michael Middleton and siblings Pippa and James in Bucklebury, Berkshire. “And I think that's pretty traditional.”

“I think that's what people really love about her — is her kind of approachability and the way she connects with people,” the actress continued. “I think that makes sense in the research that I found about her childhood.”

A palace insider previously told PEOPLE that Prince William “loves” the “stabilizing normality” that Princess Kate brings to their family today. The Prince and Princess of Wales share Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5, who follow their father in the line of succession to the throne.

"Coming from a different background, she appreciates the importance of having family time," said a source close to the royal household. "She wasn't brought up in that aristocratic setting where you see the children for a short time each day."

Though season 6 of The Crown is expected to conclude around 2005 — years before William and Kate got married — Bellamy says that it was extra special to film in Scotland, where they first met.

Related: Why The Crown's Dominic West Feels 'Sympathy' for King Charles (Exclusive)

“I really liked filming in St. Andrew's. There were a lot of special days there, and I particularly liked because I've never done anything like it before. I mean, I've never filmed before, but there was a fake rain scene and they had this rain machine, but to make it look like it's really raining on camera, it has to be like torrential tropical rain,” she tells PEOPLE of a favorite memory from the set. “We were going again and again and again and resetting and there was a lot of crowds there that day, and it was just a lot, but a real laugh to just be just walking up and down the street soaked.”

Before being cast, Bellamy worked at Legoland and joked about the luck of making her screen debut in the series. The decorated drama helmed by Peter Morgan has received 27 BAFTA nominations and won 21 Emmy Awards, among other nods, since it premiered six years ago.

“Everyone always said this is the best show you'll ever work on. We're like, ‘Great. Are we downhill from here?’ ” she says with a laugh.

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Part 1 of season 6 of The Crown is now streaming on Netflix, and the countdown continues to the part 2 debut on Thursday, Dec. 14.

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Read the original article on People.