Ben Affleck's Son Had A Close Encounter With Kate Middleton's Kids
Sometimes, coincidences happen that lead you to the royal family. If you're Ben Affleck, taking your son to the right place at the right time means a near miss with the eldest son and daughter of William, Prince of Wales, and Catherine, Princess of Wales. Ben told the story on "The Graham Norton Show" in 2016. While filming "Justice League" in London, he took his children to places related to the royals. "We went to Windsor Castle," Ben said. "We saw the Tower of London. We saw everywhere the royals go and live and have, you know, cut each other's head off over history."
Ben also mentioned bringing Samuel Affleck — the youngest of three children he shares with his ex-wife Jennifer Garner — to the Kidnasium indoor playground. It wasn't too crowded when they arrived. "And then I noticed they had this sort of a weird vibe from some of the other grown-ups that were there," Ben said. After seeing them dressed formally with earpieces, the "Air" actor added, "And I thought, 'Wow, Kidnasium is tight with the security!'"
It took him a little bit to figure out that it was because Prince George of Wales and Princess Charlotte of Wales were there at the same time as Samuel. Ben added, "So now I can tell him, 'You got a cold from the King of England!'" He and Norton also joked about encouraging Samuel to go be social with the tiny royals.
Is there a connection between Ben Affleck's family and the British royals?
Although Samuel Affleck didn't seem to interact much with Prince George of Wales and Princess Charlotte of Wales at the indoor playground, there is a distant connection between their families. There are eight royal families related to the late Queen Elizabeth II, including the royal family of Spain.
King Felipe VI of Spain is Elizabeth's distant cousin — and he was previously rumored to be in a relationship with actor Gwyneth Paltrow when he was still a prince. Supposedly, in 2002, they met for meals many times. According to MyLondon, the Spanish palace said the two shared a meal with friends in August of that year and did not confirm anything about a potential relationship or more outings. Coincidentally, Paltrow and Ben Affleck dated between 1997 and 2000, and she had no hard feelings about Ben getting back together with Jennifer Lopez in 2021.
Samuel doesn't seem to be genealogically tied to George and Charlotte, but the rumored connections that may link them and their families might give some weight to the six degrees of separation theory.
Ben and William bond with their sons over sports
Samuel Affleck and the Wales children have another thing in common: dads who love sports. Ben Affleck is a die-hard fan of the Boston Red Sox baseball team — he even refused to wear a New York Yankees cap while filming "Gone Girl." However, Ben and Samuel don't always agree on their favorite teams. In a 2019 interview on "Jimmy Kimmel Live," Ben recounted trying to get his kids excited about the Boston Red Sox. "And [Samuel] listens to me, and then he stops and goes, 'Dad, you're from Boston. I'm from L.A.,'" Ben said. He then tried to make Samuel a fan of the New England sports teams by drastically redecorating his son's room with New England Patriots gear. Samuel and Ben were also seen at a Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers basketball game in 2022.
William, Prince of Wales, has taken Prince George of Wales to professional soccer games for their own bonding. In April 2024, they went to a game for William's favorite team, Aston Villa. It's reportedly a favorite of George's, too, based on a conversation sports reporter Neil Moxley had with William at the game. After asking if George had become a Villa fan, William said, "Oh yes, he's loving it" (via X, formerly Twitter). The royal father-son duo also attended the Football Association Cup final together in May 2024.