Stars attend Hobbit premiere

The Duke of Cambridge attended the UK premiere of the new Hobbit film on his own tonight, saying his pregnant wife Kate "would have loved to have been here if she could".

William joined the stars of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey for the screening in London's Leicester Square while the Duchess, whose pregnancy was announced last week, continued to rest at St James's Palace as she is suffering acute morning sickness.

Editor of Hello! magazine Rosie Nixon has tweeted that the audience at The Hobbit screening has applauded as Sir Ian McKellen conveyed his best wishes to the pregnant Duchess of Cambridge, who was unable to attend the event after suffering from acute morning sickness.

A host of stars are expected to attend the first UK performance of the latest JRR Tolkien adaptation.

They include Sir Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis and Cate Blanchett, who are all reprising their roles as Gandalf, Gollum and Galadriel respectively from The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, as well as Office star Martin Freeman, who plays the central character Bilbo Baggins.

Also attending is the Duke of Cambridge, although William will not be the first royal to encounter The Hobbit, as the Prince of Wales went behind the scenes of the new blockbuster when he toured New Zealand in October to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

Sir Ian McKellen has been describing his action-packed role in the long-awaited Hobbit film ahead of its star-studded UK premiere tonight. The trilogy of films, based on the novel by Tolkien, are all directed by Peter Jackson, and set in Middle Earth 60 years before the Ring trilogy.

McKellen reprises his role as Gandalf in 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey'. He told Daybreak he couldn't have done it without a little help from his stunt doubles.

The star-studded UK premiere of the long-awaited Hobbit film will be held in London tonight but without the Duchess of Cambridge.

The Duke of Cambridge is still expected to attend The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in London's Leicester Square as Kate, continues to rest at St James's Palace from acute morning sickness.

The Duke cancelled his last public appearance at the British Military Tournament on Sunday to be at the Duchesses side.

Yesterday St James's Palace said:

"The Duchess of Cambridge will not attend The Hobbit premiere tomorrow evening and will continue to rest privately. The Duke of Cambridge will attend as planned."