Reese Witherspoon Freaked Out Meeting Kate Middleton, Says She "Fell Under Her Spell"

If you come face-to-face with a member of the royal family and don’t instantly lose your cool, did you even really meet them? Take Reese Witherspoon, for example, who might be one of Hollywood’s most cherished stars but who still melted into a puddle of feels when she was lucky enough to meet the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, back in 2011. Reese was among the guests at Kate and Prince William’s LA fundraiser for his Tusk Trust wildlife charity, as part of the couple’s first official tour following their royal wedding.

Sharing for the first time how the memorable moment really went down, Reese has admitted that she was “relatively immune from the obsession with the royals”—until the day that Kate Middleton walked into her life. Kate, who is given a whole page in Reese’s new book, Whiskey in a Teacup, is described by the actress as an “honorary Southern icon," so she should probably trade ‘Duchess of Cambridge’ immediately for that new, official title.

Recalling how it all came about, Reese wrote: "The scream that issued from my lips upon receiving [the invitation]—you would have thought I was going to die. I wake up early, mind you, but on that day I was up at 4am doing my hair. That's early, even for me. 'I've never seen you this excited,' my husband said. He wasn't kidding.”

Fully acknowledging that she failed to play it cool in any way, shape, or form, Reese continued: "Jim took pictures of me in the car. You can see rays of happiness shooting out of my face. I love Kate Middleton that much. And she did not disappoint!"

But what’s it really like to be in the company of Kate Middleton herself? “She was just lovely and warm, elegant and composed,” Reese revealed. “She also told a joke, and I immediately fell under her spell. She's just as magnificent as she seems to be. She's a very compassionate, socially conscious, deeply caring person.”

Continuing her endless praise for the Duchess, Witherspoon added: "It takes a very special person to decide to commit to that kind of life, to choose to be under public scrutiny every moment. Now that she's in that position, her entire life is in service, forever. I am so in awe of that kind of dedication."

Not that she freaked out or anything. No biggie, right Reese?