Tom Cruise is really working his royal connections these days. Last week, the Prince and Princess of Wales attended the big “royal premiere” of Digger, with Tom acting as host and happily posing with William and Kate. He’s spoken of little else since – he called them “amazing” and “very charismatic,” which led me to wonder if Tom recognizes rizz when he sees it. Well, some of us remember that Tom was also somewhat friendly with Princess Diana. Diana attended some of Tom’s premieres in the 1990s, and Tom attended Diana’s funeral in 1997. Tom was recently asked about Diana, and he brought it back to William and Kate.

Tom Cruise has emotionally recalled his first meeting with the ‘brilliant’ Princess Diana, noting that the late ‘People’s Princess’ shared the same ‘down-to-earth’ qualities as Prince William and Kate Middleton. On Sunday, the 64-year-old actor travelled to France as part of a promotional tour for his new film, Digger. During the visit, he appeared as a guest on Laurent Delahousse’s show to promote the movie, which hits theatres in both the UK and the US on October 2.

In the interview, the Top Gun star discussed his latest role while looking back on the defining moments of his 42-year career, as reported by French celebrity magazine, Gala. A particularly cherished memory was his first encounter with Princess Diana, accompanied by his then-wife Nicole Kidman at the 1992 debut of their film Far And Away

The actor fondly remembered the late royal, describing her as a ‘brilliant and intelligent woman’, adding that getting to meet and know her had been ‘a joy’.

The pair shared a second encounter when Diana received a special invitation to the set of his blockbuster Mission: Impossible movie in 1995 ahead of its release in 1996. According to her former royal chef Darren McGrady, it was after this meeting Diana – who was 5’10” – had returned to the kitchen and joked about not being able to date Cruise due to his 5’7″ height, adding: ‘That’s another one off the list – he’s too short!’

Just one year later, in August 1997, she tragically passed away in a car crash. Both Cruise and Kidman attended her funeral at Westminster Abbey in London, along with Tom Hanks and more of the royal’s famous friends.

Further reflecting on his meeting with Diana, Cruise noted that she shared the same grounded qualities as her son, William, and his wife, Kate.

He remarked: ‘She was like William and Kate: approachable, down-to-earth.’

[From The Daily Mail]

I believe Diana was approachable and down-to-earth. I do not believe that William and Kate share those personable qualities. I think Prince Harry got Diana’s personable qualities while William’s disposition is more like his father’s – taciturn, arrogant, embittered, jealous, small, petty, and at times icy. And Kate? Well, rumor is, she’s quite “grand” and status-obsessed. Which Tom wouldn’t understand. Anyway, Tom’s hype train continued at the LA premiere, where Extra’s red-carpet interviewer asked Tom about William and Kate. Tom is laying it on so thick, I’m really starting to believe the “he’s trying to recruit Will & Kate to Scientology” theory. Tom said: “They’re amazing people and how dedicated they are to their country” (lmao) and they’re both “very funny” and “elegant.”

Tom Cruise gives praise to the Prince and Princess of Wales after they joined him in London for the #Digger premiere. Tom adds that Prince William "did well" marrying his wife Kate! 💜 pic.twitter.com/rxXktYUpq1

— ExtraTV (@extratv) September 29, 2026

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images.