Tom Cruise reveals he bonded with late Duke of Edinburgh over love of helicopters

Tom Cruise has revealed he and Prince Philip bonded over a love of helicopters when he met the late Duke of Edinburgh at a charity dinner.

The Top Gun: Maverick star was a special guest at a show to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Celebrations, where he confessed his ambition to land a helicopter in the grounds of Buckingham Palace, inspired by Prince Philip.

Cruise, 59, told host Phillip Schofield: “There was a moment, of course we were talking about pilots, we had to talk about helicopters, and he was telling me the wonderful story of how he got the first helicopter into Buckingham Palace during [The Queen’s] coronation.

Read more: The Queen's Platinum Jubilee Celebration on ITV

“Fantastic story. I was this close to going ‘I’d like to land a helicopter, if you ever need a helicopter, I think I could put it right there.’

“Since I was four-years-old I wanted to make movies and fly airplanes.”

Schofield replied: “I hope that we planted a little seed and at some stage you get to land a helicopter in Buckingham Palace."

Cruise replied: “Let me do it in Trafalgar Square."

The Hollywood star filmed scenes in a helicopter in London's Trafalgar Square for his 2014 sci-fi action movie Edge Of Tomorrow.

Cruise introduced The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery at the Queen’s jubilee show at an open-air arena in Windsor.

This Morning host Schofield, 60, shared a backstage selfie with the Mission: Impossible star.

He said: "Just checking our tuxedos before the show .. as you do!!"

Cruise met the Duke of Edinburgh at a charity dinner at Buckingham Palace to mark the 75th anniversary of the Outward Bound Trust in 2017.

Read more: Tom Cruise treats family to helicopter ride after landing in their garden

The Duke died aged 99 in April 2021.

Watch: Tom Cruise was a guest at the Queen's Platinum Jubilee show