- Prince William and Kate Middleton attended the 2019 BAFTAs last Sunday, where they spent time chatting with the star of the Oscar-nominated documentary Free Solo.
- Will and Kate reportedly loved Free Solo, which stars pro climber Alex Honnold, so much that they arranged for a private screening of the film for their oldest son, Prince George.
- The film follows Honnold's attempt to complete the first free solo climb of El Capitan's 900-meter (or roughly 3,000-foot) vertical rock face at Yosemite National Park in California
Prince William and Kate Middleton are flexing their royal privilege a little—but all in the name of making Prince George a very cultured little 5-year-old.
The royal couple have reportedly used their clout as, you know, a royal couple to arrange for a private screening of an Oscar-nominated movie for their oldest child. The movie in question? Free Solo, which is nominated for Best Feature-Length Documentary.
Will and Kate are huge fans of the film themselves and spent time hobnobbing with Free Solo's star, pro climber Alex Honnold, and his girlfriend, Sanni McCandles (who also plays a big part in the movie) at the BAFTAs last weekend.
According to The Sun, Will and Kate personally requested the face time with Alex and Sanni, which speaks volumes about how much they loved the film. Will, in particular, was reportedly in full fanboy mode during the meeting, asking Alex tons of questions about his epic climb. This is totally fair—Alex scaled the 3,000-foot vertical rock face of El Capitan, the iconic rock formation in California’s Yosemite National Park that you probably know best as your Mac's default wallpaper circa 2015.
Alex completed the daunting climb without ropes or safety gear and Will was, understandably, like "...but HOW?" (though, presumably, said in a much more regal way). The royal even reportedly asked permission to examine Alex's hands for injuries, like a true super fan.
Here's hoping George loves the movie as much as his parents did and convinces them to take him to the Oscars to meet Alex himself (hey, dare to dream, right?).
