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Tom Cruise was photographed apparently gazing at Kate Middleton during the women's singles finals match at Wimbledon on Saturday, with the photos coming just weeks after Cruise made headlines by holding the duchess' hand during the London premiere of Top Gun: Maverick in May.
Kate attended Saturday's match between Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina and Tunisia's Ons Jabeur in her capacity as patron of the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC). On entering the royal box on the famed center court, the royal found that she was just three rows in front of the Risky Business star.
A photograph taken during the match appears to show Cruise looking down at Kate, who stood out among the conservatively dressed crowd by wearing a sunshine yellow midi dress by the fashion brand, Roksanda.
Cruise appeared dressed for the occasion in accordance with the strict royal box dress code, wearing a navy blazer and contrasting tie as he watched Rybakina win the championship, with Kate doing the honors of presenting the trophy.
Cruise has taken part in a number of high-profile British events this year starting with a presenting role at the Royal Windsor Horse Show's Platinum Jubilee tribute to Queen Elizabeth II.
The star's presence at the tribute, which took the form of an equestrian salute to the 96-year-old monarch, caused confusion online with commenters questioning why the Hollywood he took part.
Speaking to British TV network ITV about the event, Cruise, an apparent Anglophile, said that the queen is "a woman who I greatly admire," continuing that, "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."
It was another royal occasion, just days after the jubilee tribute that made headlines though, at a charity premiere for his box office smash Top Gun: Maverick in London's Leicester Square.
The guests of honor at the event were Prince William and Kate with the duchess appearing in a dramatic off the shoulder evening dress by Roland Mouret.
On arriving at the premiere, the royals were greeted by Cruise, who then escorted them to meet the rest of the cast. At one point along the walk was a short flight of steps. Cruise was filmed offering his hand to Kate who took it.
Internet commenters picked the gesture apart considering that on reaching a second flight of steps, Kate swapped her handbag to the side closest to Cruise which some claimed was a deliberate move to prevent him from repeating the move.
On the hand holding saga, Sky News Australia contributor Dr Erin Watson posted to Twitter, saying: "Kate Middleton then immediately switched her clutch so he didn't touch her again as she went up the next set of stairs like a total #bossroyal who wasn't going to be touched by Tom Cruise."
"Kate Middleton is all of us strategically shifting our clutch because someone thinks they can touch you but #nope," Watson added.
Royal fashion expert and author Elizabeth Holmes discussed the incident in an Instagram story: "A moment of silence for the absolutely stealth clutch hand switch. McQueen makes shields! Who knew! Clutch, indeed."
Despite these sentiments, others interpreted the move as "gentlemanly" saying Kate's initial acceptance of the gesture was evidence that she received it as it was intended.
Though the duchess and the Hollywood star were seated within close proximity at Wimbledon, there were no reports that they interacted during or after the match.
Kate attended three days of the 2022 Wimbledon championships including the men's singles final between Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios. At this match, she was joined by her husband Prince William and eldest son, Prince George, 8.
The match was the young prince's first public appearance at Wimbledon's Centre Court and at a post-match meeting with champion Djokovic, the tennis star gave him the trophy to hold. To this, William was recorded by cameras jokingly telling his son: "don't drop it!"
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