Stars turn out for Prince William and Duchess' Los Angeles BAFTA dinner

Tom Hanks, Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Lopez were among the stars who turned out to greet Prince William and his new bride at a British Academy of Film & Television Arts (BAFTA) party in Los Angeles on Saturday (09Jul11).

David Beckham, Kristin Chenoweth, Chris Evans, Blake Lively, Stephen Fry and Elizabeth Banks also attended the Brits to Watch bash in honour of the prince and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge's visit to California.

Prince William, who was elected as the fifth president of BAFTA last year (10), and his wife mingled with the star-studded crowd at the party, held to celebrate little-known, up-and-coming stars.

Sports ace Beckham was a last-minute addition to the guest list and attended the bash without his heavily-pregnant wife Victoria - but the former Spice Girl's name was on everyone's lips.

David told Prince William, "Victoria really wanted to come but she is just so tired at the moment. She sent you both lots of love", to which the royal, who is a close friend of Beckham, responded, "Don't be silly, send her all our love and tell her good luck with it all."

Chenoweth was overwhelmed to be in the presence of royalty and told her Twitter.com followers, "The best time. They were lovely. The BAFTA committee: u outdid yourself! Got to sit at a cool table: Shonda Rhimes, Dana Delaney, Marc Cherry... "