TORONTO -- Photos of a Welsh man and an American woman who bear a resemblance to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have gone viral.
Simon Pengelly, a financially independent builder and actor in Wales, was spotted by London straphangers on a subway ad earlier this month. 鈥淏loody hell Prince Harry found a job quickly,鈥� wrote a Twitter user who of the handyman hiring ad.
鈥淚t鈥檚 all a bit of a laugh,鈥� Pengelly told CTVNews.ca on the phone.
He doesn鈥檛 think he looks like the prince. In fact, he鈥檚 more often compared to Transporter actor Jason Statham.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 just the angle of that photo and the ginger beard,鈥� he said.
Normally, he has stubble and a shaved head (he鈥檚 played roles in Celtic action films). But when the tradesman ad was shot four years ago, he had a beard and fuller head of hair. The ad, originally shot for TV and internet use, appeared on the tube this year when RatedPeople.com decided to bring it back for a short campaign. They told Pengelly that the Harry comparisons were 鈥減ure coincidence鈥� and not why they selected the image.
He鈥檚 unbothered by the comparisons, but wouldn鈥檛 call himself a fan of the Royal Family.
鈥淧ersonally I鈥檓 not a big royalist so to speak, but it鈥檚 just something we鈥檝e always been brought up with,鈥� he said.
As for Harry and Meghan鈥檚 decision to step back and move part-time to Canada, he thinks they should be left alone. The real Duke of Sussex recently 鈥渟tepped back鈥� from the Royal Family seeking a more private life.
鈥淗e鈥檚 done his bit for his country,鈥� he said, noting the prince鈥檚 military service. 鈥淗e鈥檚 done more than a lot of people here who are whingeing about it.鈥�
But he wouldn鈥檛 pass up an offer to fill in if the Sussexes aren鈥檛 keen to attend royal events. 鈥淔ree food, why not?鈥� he joked.
Nor would Akeisha Land pass on the opportunity to play Duchess.
鈥淚 always joke and say I need to have someone reach out to her people to let them know I'm always up for filling in for her as her doppelgänger if she doesn't want to go to any of the events she's invited to,鈥� Land, who lives in Missouri, told the Daily Mail鈥檚 women鈥檚 blog Femail.
Her resemblance to Meghan was noted by followers of the woman鈥檚 popular on which she shared fashion and lifestyle photos of her young children.
鈥淚 get compared to her quite often, and not just online. Out and about, whether at church, movie theater, or at the grocery store,鈥� she told Daily Mail TV.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a huge compliment because she鈥檚 drop-dead gorgeous in my eyes.鈥�
Bloody hell Prince Harry found a job quickly.
鈥� Tom Rosenthal (@rosentweets)
