An Oscar-winning actress has told who she very nearly flashed King Charles when she was presented to him at a premiere for her breakthrough movie as she said ‘thank God I wore a coat’
An Oscar-winning actress has admitted that she came very close to giving His Majesty the King an eyeful when she met him at a film premiere.
Kate Winslet, who has earned acclaim for films as diverse as The Reader, Titanic and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, was promoting one of her earliest successes when she was part of a film industry line-up being presented to Prince Charles, as he then was.
Kate was nominated for an Academy Award in recognition of her portrayal of Marianne Dashwood in Ann Lee’s Sense and Sensibility in 1995 but the star, then aged just 20, hadn’t anticipated that her part in the film would lead to a royal encounter.
Appearing on US TV show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, she recalled: “I sort of hadn’t realised that we were really going to meet him, and so I forgot about the fact that I was wearing a kind of a transparent lace outfit.
“And thank God I had worn a coat because as he is making his way towards me, I’m like, ‘Nipples, nipples, nipples, oh my God!'”
Mercifully, Kate explained, someone else in the group lent her a coat to cover her modesty. That first awkward encounter clearly didn’t harm her prospects with the His Majesty – she’s now an ambassador for an upcoming King’s Foundation documentary.
The film, Finding Harmony: A King’s Vision, is set for release in early 2026.
She explained: “I share His Majesty’s passion for protecting our planet and building sustainable communities, so it’s been really rewarding to work with The King’s Foundation on this exciting project.
“I know audiences will learn, laugh and feel inspired by what’s featured in the film, and I hope the impact of Harmony will be felt in years to come.”
The film will be available to stream exclusively on Prime Video in over 240 countries and territories worldwide early next year.
When she took up her role as an ambassador for the foundation in June, Chief Executive Kristina Murrin CBE welcomed her, saying: “It has been fantastic to get to know Kate and we are thrilled she was able to spend time with our students, alumni and Royal Founding President at The King’s Foundation Awards earlier this month.
“We look forward to working with Kate to promote our work over many years to come.”
Kate also explained that she helped fellow-actress Meryl Streep with the details of royal protocol at a later meeting. She told Jimmy Kimmel: “So Meryl and I, as we were walking to meet the King, she says to me, ‘Do you think we have to curtsy?’ And I said, ‘Absolutely, we have to curtsy.’
“She was like, ‘Okay, is it, like, a big curtsy? What do we do?’ I said, ‘I don’t know. We’ll just make the motion.’ She was like, ‘I don’t know if we need to do that.’ There was a big panic. We didn’t know what the form was.”
