THE Crown’s Matt Smith has been growing close to his co-star Claire Foy amid rumours of a split from his long-term girlfriend Lily James.
The 37-year-old actor, who played a young Prince Philip in the Netflix drama, is said to have been consoled by Claire, who shared an on-screen romance with him as Queen Elizabeth.
He had been dating Downton Abbey actress Lily for five years but she was absent in photos from his family birthday party in October.
Lily, 30, hinted at a split in an Instagram post last week while on holiday with a pal in South Africa, describing them as “post-traumatic stress disorder buddies.”
Her spokesman declined to comment on whether they had separated, although they have not been pictured together since August.
The Mail on Sunday claims Matt has been spending increasing amount of time with Claire in North London, near to where they both live separately.
They played a husband and wife in the play Lungs at London’s Old Vic Theatre during a three-week run in October, for which they also spent several days closely rehearsing.
Speaking about Matt earlier this year, Claire, who split from her husband Stephen Campbell last year, said: “To me, Matt is my friend and we acted together, as opposed to me seeing him as Prince Philip.
“From the inside it makes sense, from the outside, maybe not.
“I think the most important thing is I want to be good for Matt – and, I presume, Matt wants to be good for me.”
