The Queen's secret bond with Hollywood actor formed after Jubilee 'disappointment'

The Queen reportedly enjoyed a secret friendship with a celebrity actor in the months before her death.

• The Queen had a secret friendship with a Hollywood actor in the months before her death, according to an inside source. 
• It's understood that Her Majesty and Tom Cruise 'really hit off' at Windsor Castle after she was left 'disappointed' to have missed him at her Platinum Jubilee celebrations. 
• This royal news comes after it was revealed how the Queen will be remembered this Christmas, from special London display to Princess Catherine’s carol service.
  

The Queen enjoyed a special relationship with a high-profile celebrity in the last few months of her life, according to an inside source. 

Her Majesty reportedly befriended Tom Cruise in the weeks after her Platinum Jubilee last June, even inviting the Top Gun star to join her for tea at Windsor Castle shortly before her death in September. 

It's understood that the 96-year-old monarch was 'disappointed' to have not met the Hollywood actor at the Platinum Pageant and subsequently let it 'known' to her staff that she was interested in hosting him at her Berkshire residence. 

"The Queen let it be known that she was really disappointed not to have met Tom at the pageant, so he was invited to have a special tour of Windsor Castle with everything laid on for him," a source told the Sunday Times. "Afterwards, just the two of them had tea together." 

Tom reportedly "really hit it off" with the Queen, so much so that she granted him the privilege of firing a ceremonial gun at Windsor Castle. He was also allowed to fly into the royal estate by helicopter, according to the insider. 

Tom, who appeared in the Platinum Jubilee’s Gallop Through History equine pageant in May, has never been shy about his reverence for the Queen. He has previously sung the praises of the royal matriarch in a TV interview, calling her 70-year-long reign 'historic.' 

"She’s just a woman that I greatly admire," he said before the event at Home Park in Windsor began. "I think she is someone who has tremendous dignity and I admire her devotion. What she has accomplished has been historic." 

It's understood that the monarch also invited Tom back for a second lunch, but sadly, this date wasn't meant to be. The Queen died aged 96 at Balmoral Castle on September 8, after only getting the chance to have one face-to-face meeting with her US admirer.