Prince William’s A-list greeting at a recent charity event has gone viral as he resumes a reduced schedule of public engagements following the Princess of Wales’ recent abdominal surgery and King Charles III’s cancer diagnosis.
Since the beginning of January, William has undertaken only a fraction of royal engagements typical for this time of year, and it follows the announcement from Kensington Palace on January 17 that wife, Kate, had undergone “planned abdominal surgery.”
The princess was under observation in hospital for two weeks following the surgery before she was discharged to continue her recovery at home in Windsor. William cancelled his scheduled public work while Kate was in hospital and has slowly made appearances at select events since then.
On February 7, William stepped out in black tie to attend the London Air Ambulance Charity Gala Dinner in Westminster, which was attended by a number of royal relatives including cousins the Earl of Snowdon (Princess Margaret’s son) and Lady Eliza and Lady Amelia Spencer (Princess Diana’s nieces).
The Prince of Wales and Tom Cruise (inset) photographed at the London Air Ambulance Charity Gala Dinner in London, February 7, 2024. Footage of the royal greeting Cruise at the event has gone viral on… The Prince of Wales and Tom Cruise (inset) photographed at the London Air Ambulance Charity Gala Dinner in London, February 7, 2024. Footage of the royal greeting Cruise at the event has gone viral on social media. More Chris Jackson/Getty Images/Daniel Leal – WPA Pool/Getty Images
Alongside the British royalty at the event, a touch of Hollywood royalty was present with the attendance of Tom Cruise.
Cruise and William have met at several events over the years. In 1997, the star was one of the celebrity friends of Princess Diana invited to attend her funeral at Westminster Abbey. More recently, in 2022, William and Kate walked the red carpet with Cruise at the charity premiere of his hit movie, Top Gun: Maverick.
Uploaded to TikTok by user danideeeee1, footage of William greeting the A-lister at the event has gone viral, gaining over 100,000 views and in excess of 4,900 likes and 300 comments.
Many of these comments have praised the prince and referenced the apparent warmth between him and Cruise.
“Tom Cruise is smitten with that future King!!! William is awesome,” wrote one user.
“Friend supporting friend,” posted another, with a further comment highlighting: “Even a star has stars in his eyes.”
William attended the gala dinner in his capacity as the patron of London’s Air Ambulance Charity, himself having served as a member of an air ambulance response team as a helicopter pilot after his retirement from the Royal Air Force.
During his speech at the gala, the prince referenced not only Cruise’s attendance, but also the medical challenges that have been facing the royal family.
“I’d like to take this opportunity to say thank you, also, for the kind messages of support for Catherine and for my father, especially in recent days. It means a great deal to us all,” he said.
“It’s fair to say the past few weeks have had a rather ‘medical’ focus. So I thought I’d come to an air ambulance function to get away from it all!”
Joking at action star Cruise’s expense he went on to add: “I should also take this opportunity to give a mention to my—our—fellow pilot, Tom Cruise.
“Tom, huge thanks for supporting us tonight. And Tom, if you wouldn’t mind not borrowing either of the new helicopters for the next Mission Impossible, it would be appreciated. We have all seen on our screens that—how can I put it—you seem to have a different take on ‘normal wear and tear’ to the rest of us. It’s not the kind that buffs out.”
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek’s royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek’s The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We’d love to hear from you.
Prince William’s A-List Welcome Caught on Camera
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