Kate Middleton and Prince William’s return to a movie premiere came with more familiar faces than one red carpet usually promises. The Prince and Princess of Wales posed with David Beckham and his sons Romeo and Cruz at the London world premiere of Digger on Sept. 22.
The five came together for photographs at the ODEON Luxe Leicester Square before splitting into smaller conversations. William and David were seen laughing together, while Kate spoke with Romeo and Cruz and gave the brothers a thumbs-up, according to PEOPLE.
Kate wore a floor-length purple Jenny Packham gown, while William chose a black velvet tuxedo jacket and bow tie. David, 51, Romeo, 24, and Cruz, 21, were also in black tie. The evening marked William and Kate’s first film premiere since they attended the U.K. premiere of Top Gun: Maverick in 2022.
Tom Cruise, who stars in Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Digger, was waiting for the royal couple too, and their latest meeting quickly produced callbacks to the last time the three shared a Leicester Square premiere.
David Beckham Brought Romeo and Cruz to Meet William and Kate
David arrived at the premiere with Romeo and Cruz, and all three posed beside William and Kate before the royals continued toward the screening. HELLO! also shared video from the evening showing the Beckham trio at the event and their meeting with the Prince and Princess of Wales.
The connection is hardly new. David and Victoria Beckham were guests at William and Kate’s Westminster Abbey wedding in 2011, and David has repeatedly crossed paths with William through football and charity events. Romeo has been part of that history as well. He joined his father at Wembley during England’s Euro 2020 match against Germany, where they spoke with William, Kate and Prince George.
This time, Victoria was not with them. David stood beside his two sons for the formal group photo, then continued chatting with William after the cameras had captured the five together. Kate remained with Romeo and Cruz for part of the exchange.
The photo also put three generations of very different British celebrity culture into one frame: the Prince and Princess of Wales, one of England’s most famous footballers and two of his adult sons. Nobody needed much introduction.
Tom Cruise Greeted William With Two Words: ‘Great Jacket’
Attending the World Premiere of Digger with @TomCruise and Director Alejandro González Iñárritu this evening, in support of the Film and TV Charity 🎬✨ pic.twitter.com/oM0IRHWs4T
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) September 22, 2026
Cruise’s greeting for William was considerably less formal than the setting. As the prince approached in his double-breasted velvet jacket, Cruise smiled and told him, “Great jacket,” according to Press Association reporting carried by The Independent.
William soon supplied the callback. While greeting Cruise alongside Iñárritu, he referred to their previous Leicester Square meeting by saying that “the last time he was in a helmet and flying suit.” The joke pointed directly back to the May 2022 premiere of Top Gun: Maverick.
That earlier premiere produced one of the more widely circulated images of Cruise with Kate when he offered her his hand on a set of stairs. Four years later, there was an encore. Cruise was again photographed holding Kate’s hand and helping her down steps as they made their way toward the cinema.
William and Kate also met members of the Digger cast, including Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, Jesse Plemons, Michael Stuhlbarg, Sophie Wilde and Emma D’Arcy. Cruise stars as Digger Rockwell, an enormously powerful oil tycoon scrambling to present himself as humanity’s savior after his company triggers an environmental catastrophe.
The Premiere Was the 73rd Royal Film Performance
The black-tie screening was more than a conventional world premiere. The Film and TV Charity selected Digger as its 73rd Royal Film Performance, continuing a tradition that began with A Matter of Life and Death in 1946.
The Royal Film Performance is the charity’s flagship fundraiser. Money raised supports people working behind the scenes across Britain’s film, television and cinema industries through services including a 24-hour support line, financial assistance and professional and wellbeing programs.
William’s attendance also connected with his longstanding role in the British film industry. He is president of BAFTA, while the Royal Film Performance has historically brought senior members of the royal family together with filmmakers and crews to support the wider workforce behind productions.
Digger had another particularly British connection. Iñárritu, producer Mary Parent and Cruise said before the premiere that the movie was filmed and completed in the U.K. They credited local cast and crew for what they were able to accomplish and said bringing the film back to Britain for its first public showing made the London premiere especially meaningful.
‘Digger’ Returns Cruise to Leicester Square Four Years After ‘Top Gun’
Iñárritu’s film gives Cruise a very different character from Pete “Maverick” Mitchell. Digger Rockwell is described by the filmmakers as an extraordinarily powerful man who begins a frantic effort to convince the world he can save it from a disaster of his own making.
The supporting cast puts Cruise alongside Ahmed, Goodman, Hüller, Stuhlbarg, Plemons, Wilde and D’Arcy. Iñárritu directed the original story after previously winning directing Oscars for Birdman and The Revenant.
For William and Kate, the premiere ended a four-year absence from movie red carpets. Their previous one was also built around Cruise, when they attended Top Gun: Maverick at the same Leicester Square cinema in May 2022. The Digger night added the Beckhams, another handshake on the stairs and William’s reminder that Cruise had dressed very differently the last time around.
Warner Bros. will release Digger in U.K. and Irish cinemas on Oct. 2.