The Crown Season 6: Who is Lola and is she based on Prince William’s reported ex Carley Massy-Birch?

For those of you who are avid followers of The Crown, I don’t need to tell you that the second part of Season 6 is now streaming on Netflix. In Episode 7 entitled Alma Mater, Prince William is seen kissing a woman called Lola. Kate Middleton and Prince William are still ‘just friends’ at this time and she is seen in the episode asking a friend who the girl Prince William is kissing. The friend replies by saying that she is “from a family so posh they had to name it thrice.” In case you are wondering, Lola's full name is Lola Airedale-Cavendish-Kincaid. 

Kate Middleton however doesn’t have to worry about ‘Lola’ for long as Prince William reveals that it is over between the pair of them. Although Kate Middleton’s ex boyfriend Rupert Finch, played by Sienna Miller’s boyfriend Oli Green, is not based on a fictional character (Rupert is most definitely real and attended the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton), does the same apply to Lola?

Lola Airedale-Cavendish-Kincaid is reportedly based loosely on a former girlfriend of Prince Willaim’s, Carley Massy-Birch. According to Vanity Fair, “Like the fictional Crown girlfriend, Massy-Birch was an aspiring actress who briefly went out with the prince at St. Andrews during his freshman year.” The article goes on to say that Carley spoke to Vanity Fair’s royal correspondent Katie Nicholl and said “William was in the year below, and we just happened to meet through the general St. Andrews mêlée. It’s such a small place that it was impossible not to bump into William…. It was very much a university thing, just a regular university romance.” 

What happened to Carley Massy-Birch, is she married?

According to the Daily Mail, Carley “was based in London and at the time of dating William had appeared in a few plays, including some on Radio 4. While it is believed that Massy-Birch is now married herself, mystery surrounds her, and whether she remains in touch with the royals.”