Miles Teller Broke Royal Protocol When He Met Prince William and Kate Middleton

Miles Teller got the chance to meet Prince William and Kate Middleton during Top Gun: Maverick‘s London premiere earlier this year. However, as E! News noted, the meeting didn’t exactly go as planned. The actor addressed the royal matter when he appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon recently. 

Teller explained to host Jimmy Fallon that there are many “etiquette” rules involved with meeting members of the British royal family. As a result, he was given a sheet so that he “wouldn’t f–k it up.” Unfortunately, he did exactly that. The actor said, “Right off the bat I messed up.” But, as he explained, it was an innocent mistake to make and involved him reaching for a handshake from the royals. 

“You’re not supposed to extend your hand right off the bat unless they do. But I felt the vibe, so I’m like ‘I’m going in, I’m going in,’” Teller recalled. He continued to say that he felt like extending a hand because of how charming the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were. The star continued, “To their credit, they were very disarming. I was lost. Prince William’s eyes…Kate was beautiful and cordial, but with William I don’t know, I blacked out.”

In the end, Teller said that the meeting went well despite his royal faux pas. He told Fallon, “I think he’s a lifelong fan now. I was just picking up what he was putting down.” William, Kate, and the Tom Gun: Maverick cast were all dressed to the nines for the movie’s May 19 premiere in London. PEOPLE reported that William wore a classic black tuxedo while Kate wore a black, floor-length Roland Mouret gown with a white off-the-shoulder neckline.  

Even though the duke and duchess attended the event, it wasn’t the first time that they saw the flick. They were reportedly treated to a special screening of the film by star Tom Cruise after he heard that William was a fan of the 1986 original. At the premiere, Cruise even remarked about his connection with the prince, per My London. “We have a lot in common. We both love England and we’re both aviators, we both love flying.”