Tom Cruise's interactions with Kate Middleton across two royal events in 2022 have become the subject of a new viral video, uploaded to the social media platform TikTok.
Cruise and Middleton met on two occasions in 2022, at a special charity screening of the star's hit movie Top Gun: Maverick in May, and again at the Wimbledon tennis championship in July.
The star's interaction with the princess at his movie premiere sparked a wave of social media commentary at the time after he held her hand while helping her climb a short flight of steps. Eagle-eyed royal watchers observed Kate then switch her handbag into the hand Cruise held, leading to speculation that this could have been deliberate to prevent him from repeating the gesture at the next staircase.
Uploaded to TikTok by user katemiddleton.fp, a new video showing the interactions has gained over 100,000 views, with a number of fans commenting on Cruise's apparent fondness for the princess.
The video caption, translated from Spanish, reads: "Catherine just existing," while images from the Wimbledon championship and Top Gun premiere are shown, before featuring photos of Cruise looking in her direction.
"Tom can't keep his eyes off Kate 😂 👀," one commenter said. "Him helping her up the stairs in that dress was an iconic moment 🥰"
"😂😂 He's having flashbacks of a Katie [Holmes] who's tall brunette and beautiful ❤️Hearts going 120 mph😂," said another, referencing the star's ex-wife.
For the charity movie premiere, Kate was joined by her husband Prince William who trained with the Royal Air Force as a pilot, akin to Cruise's Top Gun character Pete "Maverick" Mitchell who is a naval aviator.
For the event, the royals dressed in their red carpet finest, with Kate wearing a daring black and white evening gown from designer Roland Mouret, and William wearing specially commissioned evening shoes with embroidered fighter jets embellished on the toe. Cruise met the couple on the carpet and introduced them to his co-stars, including Miles Teller and Jon Hamm.
This was not the star's first brush with royalty. In 1992, Cruise met Princess Diana at a charity premiere of the movie Far and Away with his then-wife, Nicole Kidman.
The couple was among the guests invited from the world of celebrity to attend the princess' funeral in September 1997, after her death from injuries sustained in a high-speed car crash while on vacation in Paris at the age of 36.
Cruise appeared again in royal orbit in 2022 when he surprised fans by taking part in the Royal Windsor Horse Show celebration of Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee.
The late monarch marked her historic 70-year reign with a series of celebrations, one being a showcase at the televised equine show on the grounds of Windsor Castle.
Cruise appeared as a guest host, introducing a display from the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery, alongside other famous faces at the event which included Oscar winner Dame Helen Mirren.
Speaking to a British TV network before the event, Cruise called the queen "a woman who I greatly admire," adding: "I think she's someone who has tremendous dignity and I admire her devotion."
"What she's accomplished has been historic...I have great respect for her and when they asked [me to take part in this event] I said instantly, 'it would be my honor' to be here."
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter based in London. You can find him on 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.
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About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more
