Victoria actress says she '˜loved' pretending to be pregnant

ROYAL ROLE: Actress Jenna Coleman, who plays Queen Victoria in ITVs new costume drama.

The 30-year-old, who has batted away rumours of her own royal romance with Prince Harry, plays the monarch from her ascension to the throne at just 18 through her courtship and marriage to husband Prince Albert, with whom she had nine children.

During filming for the feature-length first episode, which aired last night, Coleman revealed that there were plenty of perks to “basically just walking around with a cushion strapped to me”.

She said of her fake bump: “I love it actually, I love it, because I get to play (Victoria) a little grouchier. She kind of doesn’t enjoy pregnancy and I have a less tight corset, which is always nice.”

The film crew spent seven months at Screen Yorkshire’s newly-launched Church Fenton Studios in North Yorkshire, which was used to create a central set of Buckingham Palace.

Meanwhile, a coronet worn by Queen Victoria and designed by her husband Albert could be exported unless a UK buyer can be found for the multi-million pound piece of jewellery.

It has been sold to a buyer who wants to export the item, but the Government has imposed a temporary bar in a bid to find a person or institution to meet the £5m asking price, plus £1m in VAT, to keep the sapphire and diamond coronet in the UK.