Stuart Heritage is a journalist for the Guardian, mostly covering film, music and television industry news. He was one of two Guardian reporters tasked with the Guardian’s live-blog of last night’s BAFTAs, which was attended by Prince William and his be-gloved wife. Halfway through the Guardian’s live-blog, Heritage dropped in to tell this amazing story about witnessing William’s behavior at last year’s royal premiere of Top Gun: Maverick:
Here’s a fun little story that I think I’m allowed to tell. Earlier this year I went to the Top Gun: Maverick premiere, and Prince William was there. And he did this big long meet and greet with all the film’s stars, who are all American and therefore all automatically a bit iffy on the idea of a monarchy in the first place.
Anyway, during this meet and greet, Prince William kept pointing at his shoes, and the film’s cast all responded by doing this weird noncommittal ‘Oh’ face in return. This is because, it turns out, Prince William was wearing special shoes that had fighter jets embroidered on them.
Imagine that for a moment. You’ve made a film. The film is going to single-handedly revive the global theatrical experience. And here you are, in London, watching the future king of England point at his special aeroplane shoes. Like a child would. Imagine being Jon Hamm trying to think of something to say to a literal prince who is determined to show you his special little aeroplane shoes, because he thinks they will somehow delight you. Imagine it.
Anyway, Prince William is wearing normal shoes today. Good.
I mean… this is pretty bad. We kind of knew it real time, because the British papers kept talking about William’s special embroidered airplane slippers, but I didn’t know he actually pointed at his shoes repeatedly as he was being introduced to the stars of Top Gun: Maverick. That royal premiere wasn’t even the first time he saw the movie – Tom Cruise gave William and Kate a private screening before the royal premiere. William was so excited to see the movie again that he had special embroidered slippers made for the royal premiere, then he made all of the Americans admire them. Wow.
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UK premiere of Top Gun: Maverick at the Odeon Leicester Square, central London.
-PICTURED: Prince William, Catherine Duchess of Cambridge
-PHOTO by: Dan Kitwood/PA Images/INSTARimages.comDisclaimer:
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- LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 19: Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (C) arrive for the “Top Gun: Maverick” Royal Film Performance at Leicester Square on May 19, 2022 in London, England.,Image: 693083095, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Dan Kitwood / Avalon
- LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 19: Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (C) arrive for the “Top Gun: Maverick” Royal Film Performance at Leicester Square on May 19, 2022 in London, England.,Image: 693083258, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Dan Kitwood / Avalon
- LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 19: Prince William, Duke of Cambridge talks with actor Tom Cruise (L) as they attend the “Top Gun: Maverick” Royal Film Performance at the Odeon Leicester Square on May 19, 2022 in London, England.,Image: 693083279, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Dan Kitwood / Avalon
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North America Rights Only – London, UK -20220519-
UK premiere of Top Gun: Maverick at the Odeon Leicester Square, central London.
-PICTURED: Prince William, Catherine Duchess of Cambridge, Tom Cruise
-PHOTO by: Dan Kitwood/PA Images/INSTARimages.comDisclaimer:
This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact INSTAR Images for licensing fee and rights information at [email protected] or call 1 212 414 0207. This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. INSTAR Images reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded
For images containing underage children: Be advised that some Countries may have restricted privacy laws against publishing images of underage children. Inform yourself! Underage children may need to be removed or have their face pixelated before publishing
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London, UNITED KINGDOM – Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and Tom Cruise are pictured attending the UK Premiere of Top Gun: Maverick Held at Leicester Square Gardens.
Pictured: Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Tom Cruise
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London, UNITED KINGDOM – The Prince and Princess of Wales attend the BAFTA Film Awards 2023 at the Royal Festival Hall, London, UK.
Pictured: Catherine, Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, Prince William, Prince of Wales
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London, UNITED KINGDOM – The Prince and Princess of Wales attend the BAFTA Film Awards 2023 at the Royal Festival Hall, London, UK.
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London, UNITED KINGDOM – The Prince and Princess of Wales attend the BAFTA Film Awards 2023 at the Royal Festival Hall, London, UK.
Pictured: Catherine, Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, Prince William, Prince of Wales
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