Fox duo to star in Madonna's film

Real-life father and son James and Laurence Fox are to play royal relatives after being cast in Madonna's new film about Wallis Simpson.

The duo will play King George V and his son, Bertie in the film W.E. which began shooting this week, directed and co-written by the music superstar.

Madonna has cast Andrea Riseborough - best known for her role as Baroness Thatcher in The Long Walk To Finchley - as Simpson, whose relationship with King Edward VIII led to his abdication.

The historical episode was famously portrayed in the 1970s TV series Edward And Mrs Simpson which starred Edward Fox - brother of Performance star James and uncle of Billie Piper's husband Laurence - in the title role as the king.

In Madonna's film the part will be played by James D'Arcy, known for his roles in Secret Diary Of A Call Girl and Master And Commander.

The new movie will tell two parallel love stories with the 1930s royal drama seen alongside the 1998 tale of Wally Winthrop who becomes obsessed with Edward's abdication as she handles artefacts from the couple's estate while working at an auctioneers.

Wally is to be played by Australian actress Abbie Cornish, with her psychiatrist husband played by former Coupling star Richard Coyle, recently seen in Prince Of Persia: The Sands of Time.

Madonna co-wrote the script with Alek Keshishian, director of her 1991 documentary In Bed With Madonna, and filming takes place in the UK and France.

She made her directorial debut with the poorly received Filth And Wisdom.