In news you can file exactly under "Unexpected Delights That I Needed Right Now," actress Helena Bonham Carter has recounted a tale where she apparently asked Prince William to be the godfather to her daughter, Nell.
In an interview with Andy Cohen, Helena explained that the request absolutely makes sense. "[My son] Billy had 11 godparents. I thought I could make up for it [for] Nell, who you know suddenly came along and we didn’t have any left. I thought, well if I get Prince William, that would cover [it]."
Makes sense, right?
Unfortunately, Prince William pulled the "But I'm Prince William" card and politely demurred. He told Helena, "You don't want me to be godfather to your child." But why?!
She was also asked about all the rumors flying throughout Britain about Meghan Markle. After explaining, "I don't pay attention to it and I wish she wouldn't have to," Helena added some advice. Meghan should realize that "all that people think of you and write about you and whatever, that’s about them; that’s not really about her."
In the clip, Helena is asked if she has seen Prince William since she drunkenly asked him to be her child's godfather to immediate audience laughter. Host Andy Cohen is aghast. "Did you drunkenly ask Prince William to be your child's godfather?" Helena says. "Yes. Hmm."
She speaks at length about how Meghan Markle is being treated, saying, "It's just all too much. As soon as you become well known, in the public domain, you have to accept the possibility … all that people think of you and write of you and whatever, that's about them."
The godfather story wasn't the only funny moment on the show. Andy Cohen asked Helena what the last thing she texted was, and she said, "Why am I on this show?" quickly followed by "To my publicist." Andy asked what her last received text was, and Helena retorted, "She just said, 'Have a drink and get on with it.'"
While William might not be Nell's godfather, he does play the role! In 1999 he became godfather to Prince Constantine Alexios of Greece. Constantine Alexios has several other godparents, including Prince Nikolaos, Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia, Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, King Felipe of Spain, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, the former Princess Alexandra zu Fürstenberg, and Mrs. Doris Robbs.
His wife, Kate Middleton, is also a godmother. In 2014, she brought William and George to the baptism of a close friend's baby, and she was named godmother during the service. The reverend of the service shared, "The couple said they wanted four godparents but weren’t quite sure whether one would be available. Then later the father rang me to say the other godmother is available, it's a friend from uni. Then he told me who it was. I got the impression that a number of the congregation had been to the same university."
Kate and William's children also have their own godparents. In fact, Charlotte's godmother Sophie Snuggs even named her own daughter after Charlotte. Sophie chose "Charlotte" as her baby's middle name, and Charlotte and George were in Sophie's wedding.
Helena Bonham Carter is now playing Princess Anne in season three of The Crown, and she appears to be relishing the role. She said the ghost of the princess has visited her in person. "She was pretty scary. At one point, she met me at Windsor Castle and she said, ‘You are getting better, aren’t you?'"
Helena also played Queen Elizabeth in The King's Speech, which is about Queen Elizabeth II's father, George VI. Funnily, Helena was shooting the Harry Potter movies at the same time, in the role of Bellatrix Lestrange, and her son would greet her by asking, "Do you have to play the witch or the queen tomorrow?"
She said playing Elizabeth and Bellatrix at the same time actually wasn't too hard, except for when it came to being a mom. "Bellatrix is so externalized and out there, literally, that I thought it would be good for me to play a more self-contained character. And I’ve done Bellatrix for a long time, so she was kind of banked. But it was actually a hard decision at the time. I was like, 'Hello, I have children, when am I going to see them?' But they survived."
For all her interest in playing royal family members and cozying up with William, Helena actually has a pretty raw take on The Firm. She once explained that in general, Brits aren't super into the family. "I don’t think we really are that fascinated; perhaps that’s the American perception. We’re way less supportive of our royal family than the rest of the world is, I think."
She did go on to speculate, however, that William might be keeping the family up with the times and is perhaps the reason they're modernizing. "They are keeping up on the modern times; good on them. I personally never got the gist of Facebook and Twitter. Perhaps they’re trying to seem more with it, more approachable. Maybe William had a say; you’ve got to relate to the younger generation."
