Helena Bonham Carter shares advice for Duchess Meghan, rehashes her drunken Prince William request

There are upsides to fame and there are downsides — and in some cases, it just all blends together, no matter how you look at it. Helena Bonham Carter made that clear during her appearance on “Watch What Happens Live” this week, where, since she plays Princess Margaret on Season 3 of “The Crown,” she was asked a handful of questions about the British royal family. Asked what she would say to Duchess Meghan about the negative press that led her to sue the British tabloids, Helena admitted she doesn’t “pay attention” to the rumor mill, adding that she wishes Meghan “wouldn’t have to,” either. “I feel like there’s just so much. It’s just all too much. It must be really hard for her not to, but all I’d say to her is, as soon as you become well known and in the public, it’s a domain you have to kind of accept,” Helena said, according to People. “The most important or useful thing that someone told me is [don’t be] putting your self-esteem in the hands of strangers.” On the other hand, sometimes being a celebrity can embolden one to, say, ask the Duke of Cambridge if he’d consent to be one’s godfather, as Helena admitted she once asked of Prince William. She explained that she’d bumped into William and Kate on Mustique before the now royal couple were married. And she admitted she’d had a few drinks. “I wasn’t that drunk. Enough drunk for me not drink anymore … He wasn’t totally sober himself. Not in a bad way, it was just very jolly,” Helena recalled. “Thing is, I’d spent all my friends as godparents on my first child, so Billy had 11 godparents. So, I thought I could make up for Nell, you know who suddenly came along and we didn’t have any left. I thought, ‘Well, if I give her Prince William that would cover,’ you know?” Unfortunately, neither the very valid reason for asking nor the liquid courage got her a “yes.” “He just said, ‘You don’t want me to be godfather to your child,'” Helena said. “And I left. I mean, obviously it didn’t work out.” It was arguably worth the anecdote, though!