Meet Rose Leslie, Kit Harington’s Game of Thrones co-star wife: the mum of 2 grew up in a castle, is related to King Charles II, and is set to star in BBC’s Miss Austen

From star-crossed lovers in Game of Thrones to soul mates in real life, Kit Harington and Rose Leslie have come a long way since he fell for her on set. They dated privately, broke up briefly in 2013, got back together, and tied the knot in 2018, per People. Now, they are parents to two adorable kiddos: a three-year-old boy and a baby girl who just turned one.

Recently, Harington attended the season three premiere of his coming show Industry and waxed lyrical about his new daughter. “My little girl just took her first steps the other day,” he gushed, adding, “I have a boy and a girl now. I couldn’t be more blessed. They are the most beautiful children in every single way. They are just gorgeous.”

So what do we know about Rose Leslie, who won a Scottish BAFTA at 21, has led popular shows like The Time Traveler’s Wife (2022), and is set to star in BBC’s Miss Austen?

What is Rose Leslie’s background?

Rose Leslie was reportedly born and raised in Scotland. Her mother is Candida Mary Sibyl, and her father is Sebastian Arbuthnot-Leslie of Clan Leslie. She is the middle child of five siblings and attended the London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art, per Harper’s Bazaar.

Most importantly, though? Until she was 10, the Vigil star lived in a castle … literally. Her childhood home is the Lickleyhead Castle in Aberdeenshire, which was owned by the Leslie Clan for five centuries.

She struggled with finding innate love for her child

After giving birth to her first child, Leslie leaned on her local community of mothers in church halls for support. “When my son was born, the narrative seemed to be that you’re automatically going to be enamoured with this little person. But why should that be the case, when you have never experienced having a child? Why should it come innately?” the 37-year-old shared candidly with Harper’s Bazaar. After she opened up about it to her husband, however, and realised that the relationship between parent and child had to be built, she said it “felt like a real release”.

She has royal ancestry

When asked about passing on this royal heritage to her children, Leslie quipped, “It’s more about instilling values – it’s not necessarily talking about Charles II!”

She didn’t want to “nanny” her husband about his addiction

Following GoT, Harington reportedly struggled with alcoholism and went into rehab to recover. Leslie told Harper’s Bazaar, “It’s on him whether he chooses to drink again. The responsibility of his behaviour is on him. It’s not on me to guard him from it.”