"He's looking wonderful and doing so well," the actress told reporters about Prince William

Emma Thompson Tried to Sneak Kiss from Prince William at Her Damehood: 'I Can't Kiss You, Can I?'

Emma Thompson knows a royal opportunity when she sees it!

The actress asked Prince William for a smooch as he made her a Dame — one of Britain’s highest honors.

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On Wednesday, the Love Actually star, 59, was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire at Buckingham Palace in London. She made good use of the investiture ceremony to slip in her bold request.

“I love Prince William,” she told reporters about the royal father of three. “I’ve known him since he was little, and we just sniggered at each other. I said, ‘I can’t kiss you, can I?’ And he said, ‘No, don’t!'”

Even though she did not land a kiss, Thompson, who rocked sneakers and a suit at the ceremony, sang the prince’s praises. “He’s looking wonderful and doing so well,” she commented. “He said, ‘This day isn’t about me, it’s about you.'”

“It’s really lovely because I’ve always loved the boys, and I’ve always been a long-term correspondent with their dad,” Thompson added. “It’s a very lovely feeling.”

Image zoom Emma Thompson STEVE PARSONS/AFP/Getty Images

RELATED: Princes William and Harry Reveal How Prince Charles Quietly Took Them ‘Litter Picking’ as Kids

As Prince Charles went through his bitter 1996 divorce with Princess Diana, Thompson used letters to cheer him up, according to the book Charles: The Heart of a King.