Royal Watch News

Royals to attend The Hobbit screening

Sep 25, 2012, 12:01 GMT

Queen Elizabeth

Britain's Queen Elizabeth and her heirs will attend a special 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' screening.

The 86-year-old monarch is expected to head the list of guests - which could also include Prince William, Duchess Catherine and Prince Charles - at this year's 65th Royal Film Performance on December 12, two days before the Peter Jackson-directed fantasy prequel movie is released.

The motion picture - which stars Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins and sees Elijah Wood, Sir Ian McKellen and Orlando Bloom reprise their respective roles as Frodo, Gandalf and Legolas - will be screened at the annual event to support the Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund, a charity for the UK film and television industries.

The Royal Film Performance - a charity screening of a British film - has occurred almost every year since 1946 when it began with romantic fantasy movie 'A Matter of Life and Death'.

Last year, Charles attended the screening of Martin Scorsese's 3D children's epic 'Hugo' as part of the royal event in 2010 and the queen went to the screening of 'The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader'.

Should William and Catherine - who was known as Kate Middleton prior to the couple's nuptials - attend this year's 'Hobbit' event then it will not be the first film screening they have been to recently after going to the London premiere of Disney film 'African Cats' in April and in 'War Horse' in January.