No Time To Die has finally premiered. After years of delays, Daniel Craig’s final turn as James Bond is hitting theaters in England ahead of its American release. There were even some royals in attendance at the debut. On a night of movie stars, it was Prince William and Kate Middleton turning the most heads.
Dazzling The Cameras
William showed up dressed to the nines in a Sean Connery-esque tuxedo. The world’s sexiest bald man was alls miles at an event close to the royal family’s heart. Middleton was radiant in a beautiful golden gown. She wouldn’t be out of place in No Time To Die itself.
Bond And Royals
One may question why the royals would attend a movie premiere in the first place. This is a valid question. But the answer is much more cultural than any other. James Bond is uniquely British. In Hugh Grant’s monologue in Love Actually, Connery, and therefore Bond, is cited as something great about England, on par with Shakespeare and David Beckham.
Middleton also attended Wimbledon and Euro 2020, so a Bond premiere isn’t too far off from that. Therefore, it’s no surprise why the royals have always prioritized 007 movies.
The first James Bond premiere visit came in 1967 when Queen Elizabeth greeted Connery on the red carpet for You Only Live Twice. Princess Diana attended many herself, including 1986’s The Living Daylights. Queen Elizabeth also personally attended both Peirce Brosnan’s final turn and Daniel Craig’s first.
Parachuting In
The most well-known interaction between royalty and Bond has to be the 2012 Olympic Games. Bond, in a pretaped vignette ensures Elizabeth’s safety. As Elizabeth was parachuted into arena, Bond presided. This makes Elizabeth the most famous Bond girl in history.
A Story Fianlly Proven False
Believe it or not, but the premiere of No Time To Die was the subject of one particular weird tabloid story. Last year, Star claimed Craig had personally forbidden Ben Affleck from attending the premiere with his then-girlfriend Ana de Armas, who co-stars in the film. It’s funny to read stories like this in hindsight. Armas, Affleck were long gone by the time this movie was actually made.