King Charles made a solo appearance at the London premiere of Gladiator 2, attending the event without his wife, Queen Camilla, who is recovering from a chest infection.
The 75 year old monarch walked the red carpet at Leicester Square, dressed in a black suit and bowtie, alongside stars of the film, including Paul Mescal.
Queen Camilla, 77, has been forced to cancel several engagements due to her illness, including the Cenotaph war memorial on Remembrance Sunday, where King Charles, Prince William, and Princess Kate paid tribute to Britain’s war dead. Although she briefly attended a Palace reception earlier in the day to celebrate the TV and film industry, she decided to skip the Gladiator 2 premiere to focus on her recovery.
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Camilla recently shared a health update, saying: “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.”
Buckingham Palace made an announcement on November 9, revealing The Queen’s health concerns and the need for rest: “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.”
Twenty years since Russell Crowe graced the screen as Maximus Decimus Meridius in Gladiator, Ridley Scott’s awe-inspiring epic walked away with global revenues of $465.4 million, securing its place as the second top-earning film of 2000 after Mission: Impossible 2, and bagged five Oscars including Best Picture and Best Actor for Crowe.
The upcoming sequel, debuting this Friday, November 15, sees Paul Mescal from ‘Normal People’ fame stepping into the sandals of an adult Lucius Verus, son of Maximus, as the plot moves forward several years following the first movie’s climax. Mescal’s character Lucius endures a gladiator’s life after his residence gets stormed by Roman soldiers led by General Marcus Acacius, in the era of the co-emperors Caracalla and Geta.
Alongside stars like Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, and Fred Hechinger, Hollywood powerhouse Denzel Washington is slated to join the prestigious line-up in the much-anticipated sequel.
The stars of the screen have been gracing red carpets globally, and during the Dublin premiere, actor Paul Mescal performed an incredibly thoughtful act for his mother Dearbhla, who fought Multiple Myeloma since her diagnosis in 2022. On RTE Radio 1’s ‘Sunday with Miriam,’ she shared with Miriam O’Callaghan that her son had invited her oncologist to the ‘Gladiator II’ premiere as a special token of appreciation.
“Paul actually invited my doctor to the premiere, so that was so lovely, it was so lovely to see him out of context” said a touched Dearbhla. She happily reported her cancer is in remission, commenting: “My body has accepted the treatment and is continuing to accept the treatment.”
With sincere gratitude, she spoke of her family’s health, “My three children are well and I don’t think any parent can ask for more than that, to be honest.” Attending the film’s premiere brought immense emotion, as Dearbhla experienced firsthand the vast 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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