Rachel Weisz praises royal family for putting nervous guests at ease

Actress Rachel Weisz has heaped praise on Prince William and his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge for making her feel special and at ease after feeling embarrassed about greeting the royals with wet hands.

The Mommy beauty, who is married to James Bond star Daniel Craig, met the couple and William's brother Prince Harry at the recent London premiere of Spectre, but she reveals she didn't get a chance to dry her hands after having to rush out of the bathroom so as not to miss the royal greeting.

Weisz admits she felt like "a mess" as William approached, but he really helped to calm her nerves.

"Their whole life is about diplomacy, so their job is to make you feel at ease, but my goodness do they do it well," she gushes. "I mean, they just put me right at ease. So I was standing behind Daniel and the protocol was we had to go to the royal box and the wives met the royals outside the box, but I had gone to the loo (toilet) and I was just washing my hands and the guy in charge... was like, 'The Prince is coming, the Prince is coming,' and I didn't have time to dry my hands."

She continues, "So I ran to the spot and there he was, and I was meeting him for the first time and I curtsied and I said, 'Good evening Your Royal Highness, it's such a pleasure to meet you. I'm so sorry my hands are wet, I just washed them and I didn't have time to dry them.'

"I was a mess and he looked at me and said, 'Well, at least they're clean!' He just made me feel so good. Then the Princess, right at the end when we were leaving, and you know Daniel has to be away filming for a year, and I'm pleased that he's finished and he's home, and she turned around to me just as she was leaving and she said, 'I bet you're glad to have him home.' My eyes filled with tears because that's exactly what I was feeling and they make you feel very special. They're really good..."