King Charles has made his solo entrance at the London film premiere of Gladiator 2.
The monarch, 75, attended the event alone after wife Queen Camilla, 77, has been forced to pull out of a string of engagements following a chest infection. He joined stars of the hugely-anticipated Gladiator sequel including actor Paul Mescal. The King wore a black suit paired with a black bowtie as he walked the red carpet at Leicester Square without the Queen.
Camilla recently missed the Cenotaph war memorial for Remembrance Sunday, where King Charles, Prince William and Princess Kate gathered to pay tribute to Britain's war dead. Yesterday, she gave a health update as she said: "I'm getting much better. Bit of coughing going on. I really wanted to come... I'm always on the mend, these things always take a bit of time to get rid of, but hopefully I'm on the mend now."
Last week, Buckingham Palace announced Camilla was pulling out of engagements after becoming unwell with a chest infection. She was confirmed to be back on royal duties, however decided to miss the Gladiator 2 premiere to help aid her recovery. Earlier in the day, the Queen briefly attended a Palace reception to celebrate the TV and film industry.
In a statement on November 9, the Palace said she would be taking time to rest and recover her health. It read: "Following doctors' guidance to ensure a full recovery from a seasonal chest infection, and to protect others from any potential risk, Her Majesty will not attend this weekend's Remembrance events. While this is a source of great disappointment to The Queen, she will mark the occasion privately at home and hopes to return to public duties early next week."
The first Gladiator film, released in 2000, featured Russell Crowe as Maximus Decimus Meridius, a Hispano-Roman general who is forced into slavery and seeks revenge against Emperor Commodus (played by Joaquin Phoenix) for the murder of his family and the previous emperor.
Ridley Scott's epic raked in $465.4 million worldwide, making it the second highest-grossing film of that year, just behind Mission: Impossible 2. It went on to scoop five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Costume Design and Best Actor for Russell. This time around, Normal People star Paul will portray an adult Lucius Verus, Maximus' son, as the movie takes place several years after the events of the first.
Lucius becomes a gladiator when his home is invaded by the Roman army under General Marcus Acacius, during the rule of co-emperors Caracalla and Geta. The film stars Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger. Hollywood legend Denzel Washington also is in the sequel. The film will be released this Friday on November 15.
Stars of the show have been touring the premieres across the world and when they hit Dublin, actor Paul Mescal paid an incredible gesture to his mother. Dearbhla, who was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma in 2022, told Miriam O'Callaghan on RTE Radio 1's 'Sunday with Miriam' her son had invited her cancer doctor to the 'Gladiator II' premiere as a special thank you.
"Paul actually invited my doctor to the premiere, so that was so lovely, it was so lovely to see him out of context" Dearbhla expressed. She joyfully mentioned her cancer is in remission, saying: "My body has accepted the treatment and is continuing to accept the treatment." She added how grateful she is for the wellbeing of her family: "My three children are well and I don't think any parent can ask for more than that, to be honest."
Attending the premiere was an incredibly moving experience for Dearbhla, as she witnessed the overwhelming support for her son, "It was actually quite incredible and I heard Paul talking about being overwhelmed but in a good way."
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