Heir to the British throne Prince Charles joined members of the boxing world late Tuesday for the royal premiere of "Ali" -- the life and times of former world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali played by Will Smith.
There were hopes that the boxing legend, who suffers from Parkinson's Disease, would attend the premiere in Leicester Square, central London, but a spokesman for the event said Ali had been forced to cancel.
The prince arrived a few minutes before the film was due to start and met staff at the Empire Cinema as well as the film's director Michael Mann.
Hundreds of fans let out a deafening scream when Smith, who starred in "Men In Black," arrived. He greeted some of those who braved the cold weather and signed autographs.
British Olympic boxing gold medallist Audley Harrison was joined by former champions Henry Cooper, Barry McGuigan and Nigel Benn.
Also in attendance was French international footballer Patrick Vieira, who plays for London-based team Arsenal.
The music world was represented by veteran singer Bob Geldof and Skin, lead performer of band Skunk Anansie.
Supermodel Heidi Fleiss also attended.
The film is due to premiere in the United States on Wednesday and opens to the public later in December.
The British public must wait until February 2002 before they can see the film.
"Ali" is reportedly the most expensive biopic ever made, costing 73 million pounds (105 million dollars) to produce.
It covers the 10 years after Ali's fight with Sonny Liston in 1964, when he first became world champion, and shows him becoming a Muslim and his involvement with the Nation of Islam.
Ali was crowned world heavy weight champion three times -- AFP
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