Movie star Emma Watson’s reaction over her rumored schoolgirl crush on Prince William has gone viral after footage from a 2001 interview resurfaced on TikTok.
Watson and William have been photographed together at high profile events in recent years, including the prince’s Earthshot Prize awards in 2021, when the actress chatted to the royal and his wife, Kate.
At the age of 11, British-born Watson was asked about William during an interview with Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripathe in 2001 while promoting her first major movie role of Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter series.
Uploaded to TikTok by user, windspncer, on April 9, footage from the Live with Regis and Kelly show, cut with clips of a teenage William, has been viewed over 230,000 times on the platform, so far.
In the interview, Watson was asked by Philbin “somebody told me you have a big crush on Prince William?” To which the young star offered a shy smile in response.
Not shown in the viral clip, Watson answered “a little bit,” before Philbin described William as a “dude”.
“He’s not really a ‘dude,'” Watson told him. “Brad Pitt’s a ‘dude’ but William is pretty.”
Captioned “Even Emma Watson has a crush on will😭🙏,” the video has received in excess of 35,000 likes and over 160 comments, many of which have praised the actress and the prince.
“Emma Watson is so cute,” wrote one TikTok user.
“Who wouldn’t have a crush on Prince William” posted another, with a further comment reading: “I don’t blame her 🤷.”
Prior to the Earthshot Prize awards ceremony in 2021, when Watson presented one of the honors, the star was photographed in 2014 meeting William at a Windsor Castle reception.
Doug Seeburg-Pool/Getty Images
Watson had been invited to attend the event held in honor of The Royal Marsden hospital, a world leader in cancer care. William is president of the organization and started the role in 2007, a particularly significant year for the prince and the London hospital.
It marked the 10-year anniversary of the death of Princess Diana who had also been president. Taking over his mother’s former patronage, William said: “The Royal Marsden does an extraordinary job in treating thousands of cancer patients every year. The standards of care and compassion of its staff are unsurpassed in the world. I am, therefore, delighted and honored to become President of The Royal Marsden and will do whatever I can to support its innovative and vital work.”
Watson attended the Windsor Castle dinner for the hospital alongside a host of other celebrities, including Ralph Lauren, Kate Blanchett, Kate Moss and Lily James.
Newsweek contacted Kensington Palace via email for comment. Representatives for Emma Watson were unable to be reached.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek‘s royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek‘s The Royals Facebook page.
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