Tom Cruise's Strange Relationship With The Royal Family Explained

When Tom Cruise was announced as one of the special guests for the coronation of King Charles III, some people were left scratching their heads. The "Top Gun" star was confirmed in April as one of the stars taking part in the concert celebration scheduled for May 7 (one day after the formal ceremony), with a pretty unexpected collection of big names being added to the line-up, which already included the likes of Katy Perry and Lionel Richie. Amongst the other famous faces confirmed alongside Cruise? None other than Winnie the Pooh and Nicole Scherzinger. The BBC confirmed that Cruise would take part in what was described in a statement as "pre-recorded sketches and segments revealing little-known facts about the king."

Before that, British outlet The Sun reported that Cruise was so eager to participate that he would pause his work filming "Mission: Impossible 8" to join the celebration. "Something as important — and grand — as King Charles's Coronation is something he would not want to miss out on," a source claimed. "It is a huge thing for Tom to be invited and he is honored."

But why exactly is Cruise part of the line-up? Well, as it turns out, the American actor has quite a lengthy history with the British royals that you may well have forgotten about.

One of the big reasons Tom Cruise was likely invited to be a part of the coronation events may be because of his connection to William, Prince of Wales, and Catherine, Princess of Wales. As a source told The Sun, "It is a hugely prestigious event and Tom is a real royalist — plus he is now close with Prince William and Kate."

Prince William hasn't exactly made a secret of his friendship with the A-List actor, either. William and Kate famously walked the red carpet with the star during the London premiere of Top Gun: Maverick in 2022. Cruise gushed about their relationship while there, telling reporters on the red carpet, "We have a lot in common." He then said of William, "We both love England and we're both aviators, we both love flying." That came after The U.S. Sun reported Cruise actually treated the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to a private screening of the movie before it was released because he heard William was a fan of the first installment.

But the affiliation Cruise (who's also been spotted chatting with William's late grandfather, Prince Phillip, before) has with the royal family stretches far further back than that.

It's thought that Tom Cruise first grew close to the British royals when he forged a relationship with Prince William's mother, Princess Diana. It's believed that the two became friends back in the early 1990s, with former royal chef Darren McGrady claiming to Express that they met after Diana took a young Prince William and Prince Harry to meet him on the set of "Mission: Impossible." "Wills and Harry loved the pyrotechnics," McGrady shared, but admitted that Princess Diana joked that Cruise wouldn't be the man for her following her split with the man now known as King Charles. "But Princess Diana [said] 'That's another one off the list Darren. He's too short!'" he quipped.

Cruise was also famously photographed greeting Princess Diana alongside his then-wife, Nicole Kidman, at the premiere of their 1992 movie, "Far And Away." Five years later, following Diana's untimely death, Cruise proved they'd formed quite a bond when he and Kidman made the trip across the pond to pay tribute to Diana by attending her funeral alongside the royals.

While Tom Cruise was part of an incredibly sad royal event with Princess Diana's funeral, he's also been on hand for more celebratory gatherings over the years. During the late Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee in 2022, he attended the "A Gallop Through History" event at Windsor Castle and proudly shared his longtime admiration for the monarch. "It's a real privilege. I was just very honoured," he told ITV (via Independent) of being asked by the royals to take part in the celebration. "She's just a woman that I greatly admire. I think she is someone who has tremendous dignity and I admire her devotion. What she has accomplished has been historic. I just remember always as a kid seeing photos of her."

Not only has Cruise shared his love of the royals before, but he's also admitted he has a deep affiliation with the U.K. as a whole. "I guess I am an Anglophile. I spend a lot of time in Britain and that's not just for work reasons," he told Mirror in 2022. "I just love being here. It's a fantastic blend of old and new. I love seeing the sights, the Tower of London, Nelson's Column, Buckingham Palace and all those fantastic places which are just full of history."

So it's probably not as surprising as it may seem to see Cruise hanging out with the royals on coronation weekend.