By royal appointment

It's the night when Hollywood royals meet the real thing, and after eight decades, cinema's greatest UK tradition is as glittering as ever

- ROBERT SELLERS, GARETH OWEN.

For almost eight decades, the Royal Film Performance (known as the Royal Command Film Performance until 1948) has been a firm fixture in even Hollywood diaries, a night when the year's big film is screened before royalty to raise money for charity. As Oscar-winning producer David Puttnam, whose film Chariots of Fire was chosen in 1981, once said, 'I can't remember a star, a director, a producer or a writer who wouldn't bust a gut to be present.' As this year's event approaches, we look at some of its greatest red-carpet moments.

A RIGHT ROYAL AFFAIR

The first Royal Command Film Performance,