Top Gun Maverick premiere gets royal treatment as Kate Middleton and Prince William dress to impress

KATE Middleton and Prince William dressed to impress tonight as they attended the glitzy Top Gun: Maverick premiere in London.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge beamed as they brushed shoulders with Hollywood stars, having already attended a private screening of the film earlier this year.

William and Kate arrived to cheers from onlookers and the flashes of cameras at the event in London’s Leicester Square on Thursday evening.

Kate dazzled in an off-the-shoulder Roland Mouret column gown, with a £2,300 Alexander McQueen clutch and £10,500 Robinson Pelham diamond star earrings.

Meanwhile William was decked out in a midnight blue Alexander McQueen velvet dinner jacket and tuxedo trousers.

He also wore Crocket & Jones loafers with “F-18” on them in a nod to the fighter jet flown by Cruise’s character in the film.

Tonight’s fundraising bash, which took as a Royal Film Performance, was held in aid of The Film and TV Charity, supporting people working behind the scenes in the UK’s screen sector.

It also marked the first time in 36 years Tom Cruise has slipped out of his shirt and into his aviators as test pilot Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell.

Cruise pulled out all the stops to set up a private screening for Wills and Kate back in March – having heard trained RAF helicopter pilot Wills, 39, was a fan of the original.

He gave them a world-first ­preview of the sequel, along with Sophie Wessex, 57, Princesses Eugenie, 32, and Princess Beatrice, 33, at one of the country’s biggest IMAX screens.

Maverick, which has so far received rave reviews from critics, sees Hollywood star Cruise reprise the role of US naval aviator Pete Mitchell and is being released 36 years after the 1986 original.

It was originally due for release in July 2019 but was repeatedly pushed back due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Tom Cruise made a dramatic entrance at the US premiere of the film, landing a helicopter on an aircraft carrier in San Diego, California.

And on Sunday, he joined the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, in which he introduced the King’s Troop, Royal Horse Artillery.

The actor said: “(The Queen) is a woman that I greatly admire, what she has accomplished has been historic.

“She has met presidents, world leaders, people from all walks of life.

“I just remember always as a kid seeing photos of her. I came to England, started making movies here in 1982, started producing here because I liked the crews. I loved the history.

“I have great respect for her, so when they asked (whether he would attend the platinum celebrations) I said yes immediately.”