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William, Kate and Harry... Potter? Royals spend magic day at film studios
Britain's Prince William, his wife Catherine and Prince Harry had a wizard time on Friday as they visited the Warner Brothers studios where the Harry Potter and Batman movies were filmed.
Britain's Prince William, his wife Catherine and Prince Harry had a wizard time on Friday as they visited the Warner Brothers studios where the Harry Potter and Batman movies were filmed.
The junior royals, who were officially opening the studios at Leavesden, north of London, got to try out props and costumes and waved wands on the set of the movies about the teenage wizard.
They were shown around the "Making of Harry Potter" tour, a popular tourist attraction for fans of the films based on the books by JK Rowling.
Second-in-line to the throne William then took the wheel of a Batmobile that featured in the recent trilogy by British director Christopher Nolan.
"I'm a very happy man," he joked after exploring the Batmobile and sitting astride the Batpod motorcycle.
"Christian Bale's getting old and tired... I will stand in if I have to," the 30-year-old Royal Air Force search and rescue pilot joked, referring to the star of the series about the caped crusader.
In a speech to Warner Bros. executives, 30-year-old William said he was "over the moon just to have seen the real Batmobile and Batpod."
He also jumped astride a bat bike and turned on the engine as younger brother Harry put his fingers in his ears because of the noise.
"On the other hand Harry's just excited to see a real life talking owl in the Harry Potter studios," William said of his 28-year-old brother. "I haven't told him yet that Harry Potter is fictional, so please keep the secret for a little longer."
Kate, 31, who is around six months pregnant, let the boys play with their toys but still cast a spell in a black jacket and polka dot dress from the British high street retailer Topshop that showed off her baby bump.
The royals, accompanied by 500 children and adults from charities they support, had a wand lesson, visited the Great Hall of Hogwarts School and saw props, costumes and models from the Potter series in the company of the boy wizard's creator, JK Rowling.
The child, who will be the couple's first, is expected to be born in July.
Friday is the official opening of Warner Bros.' Leavesden Studios, a former World War II airdrome 20 miles (30 kilometers) northwest of London
Warner Bros. has spent 100 million pounds ($155 million) redeveloping the facility, where the eight Potter films were shot, into Europe's largest filmmaking complex.
It was recently used for the upcoming Tom Cruise sci-fi picture "All You Need is Kill."
