On the surface, it would seem like Eddie Redmayne and Prince William, two people who live entirely different lives, would have little in common, but the truth is that these two will always be connected through the sport of rugby. Most may not be aware, but the Oscar winner actually attended school with Prince William, and during that time, they were on the same team.
While there are a number of things that will always stay behind closed doors, details have surfaced about their playing days, which paint a clearer picture of what it was like to share the field with Prince William. Turns out, life is nice when a member of the Royal Family is constantly targeted.
Let’s look back on Eddie Redmayne’s rugby days with Prince William.
They Went To Eton College Together
It is always interesting to look back on certain celebrities and discovering that they knew someone that also wound up becoming famous. In the case of Eddie Redmayne, he attended Eton College with Prince William, but by that point, Prince William was already one of the most famous faces on the entire planet.
For the unfamiliar, Eton College is an all boys boarding school located near Windsor in England. The school costs an arm and a leg to attend, but we can’t imagine Prince William having to worry about something like his tuition fees being covered while he was attending school there.
Not only did Redmayne and Prince William attend Eton, but through the years, a number of other famous faces have, as well. People like House actor Hugh Laurie, MCU star Tom Hiddleston, and even Band of Brothers standout Damian Lewis went to Eton College at one point. That is an impressive list of names of people who went on to accomplish great things in entertainment.
Even though academics were a priority, Prince William and Redmayne both sought out extracurriculars, with rugby taking center stage for the pair.
They Played Rugby Together
It’s hard to believe that both of these guys wound up playing rugby for the same school, but the universe has a mysterious way of bringing people together. In an interview, Redmayne would open up about playing rugby with royalty.
“I did play rugby with Prince William. I always felt a bit sorry for him because basically any school you played, all they wanted to do was tackle Prince William in order to say, ‘I tackled Prince William.’ So if you were standing next to Prince William, like I was, it was actually quite easy and quite fun.”
It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to hear that other team’s players would go out of their way to target Prince William. Even on a lower scale, opposing players will look to make a play against a rival star player, so we can only imagine what it would have been like to have a shot at making a play against a legitimate Prince.
After their time together at Eton College, Prince William would continue with his princely duties and eventually start a family. To this day, he remains in the public eye while assuming his place in the Royal Family. Redmayne, meanwhile, has developed into a successful and talented actor who has taken home an Oscar for his work and is currently the face of the Fantastic Beasts franchise. Separate roads, sure, but at one time, their paths collided in a mysterious and interesting way.
Are They Still Friends?
After teaming up to take down the opposition on the rugby field with one another, people have grown curious about Prince William and Eddie Redmayne’s friendship and whether or not it has lasted after all this time. In short, it doesn’t seem like the duo are as close as they were during their rugby days.
They were snapped together looking friendly at an event, but Redmayne has mentioned that they hadn’t seen each other since school prior to that. The actor has, however, had a moment with the Royal Family. This took place back in 2017 when he received an MBE from the Queen.
“Can I tell you the oddest part? So, you go to Windsor Castle and you cue up alongside like, some of these extraordinary people who’ve genuinely done brilliant things and you’re an actor and you feel a bit of a shmuck,” said Redmayne.
“And then you go through a door to meet the Queen and in that room, [a] huge assembly room of people, it’s all royal and palatial. And there’s a string quartet playing music and just as I was about to go in, you think it’s classical music, and I suddenly heard them playing Coldplay!”
Redmayne would also mention at that “[The Queen] is so cool. I don’t remember her being small, but I was pretty nervous.”
While they may not be super close anymore, it is still cool that Eddie Redmayne can always lay claim to having gone to battle on the rugby field with Prince William.