Prince William and Prince Harry Meet Luke Skywalker (and Have a Lightsaber Battle!) During Star Wars Set Visit

Royals play with Rey's head cast at Pinewood studios

By Bruna Nessif Apr 19, 2016 12:31 PMTags
Prince Harry, Prince William, Star WarsADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images

Prince William and Prince Harry visited a galaxy far, far away.

The royals were able to participate in a Star Wars fan's dream today when they visited the set of Star Wars: Episode VIII where they received a tour by actress Daisy Ridley (and played with her head cast) and got a chance to meet Mark Hamill, who plays Luke Skywalker, as well as director Rian Johnson.

And, of course, the brothers took part in a lightsaber battle. Prince William played the role of Ridley's character, while Prince Harry grabbed villian Kylo Ren's lightsaber. The props were remotely controlled by a technician who turned on the internal glowing lights.

Not only that—they got a sneak preview of the film! Man, royal perks, for real.

ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images
ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images
ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images

Kensington Palace announced Tuesday's visit yesterday on Twitter, and explained that the princes would be celebrating Star Wars' "fantastic British creative talent".

"The Duke of Cambridge, President of @BAFTA, and Prince Harry will visit the @starwars film set @PinewoodStudios tomorrow," the account tweeted yesterday. "Their visit will recognise the wealth of fantastic British creative talent involved in the production of the @starwars films...The Duke and Prince Harry will visit production workshops @PinewoodStudios, meeting the specialist teams working on the @starwars films." Prior to the princes' visit, Hamill tweeted, "Meeting #Royals William & Harry! Finally- a chance to get an informed answer on whether being Leia's brother makes me a Prince. #LordLuke."

There was British talent both in front and behind the cameras in 2015's Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens, including Ridley and John Boyega, who starred as Rey and Finn in the film. J.J. Abrams also featured British locations, shooting exterior scenes on Greenham Common, in the Lake District and Scotland.

Star Wars: Episode VIII will be released in 2017.

Adrian Dennis-WPA Pool/Getty IMages
ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images

Don't forget BB-8 - The Duke and Prince Harry say hi to the @starwars cast!

A video posted by Kensington Palace (@kensingtonroyal) on

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