23rd Bond film, Daniel Craig in the role of the 007  last time we will watch.British Royalty and stars have appeared on the red carpet for the most hotly anticipated film of the year.

Daniel Craig reprises the role of 007 for the third time in the 23rd movie in the official series, which comes 50 years after the first Bond film, Dr. No starring Sir Sean Connery.

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall joined stars including Dame Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Berenice Marloh and Ben Whishaw for the world premiere at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

The royal couple arrived on the red carpet to Bond’s famous theme music and were greeted by Skyfall’s producers Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli before they were introduced to the cast.

The Prince hailed Bond as “the most famous secret service agent of all time”. At his request, proceeds from the screening will benefit charities that support members of the intelligence services.

Skyfall is the first Bond film to be directed by Oscar-winner Sam Mendes, who promised fans the latest effort would be an “epic”.

Sky’s entertainment correspondent Lucy Cotter caught up with Craig on the red carpet, where she asked him how he felt about the movie, which has been hailed as “the best Bond film ever”.

He said: “You just try and make the best movie you can… and we’ve had some good response. Now it’s up to the audience to make their decisions about it.”

Asked about the latest gadgets in the film, Craig explained: “Well, we’ve just got the best team in the world… a wonderful creative team.”

On director Mendes he enthused: “I just thought he was the man for the job, plain and simple. He allowed me to relax, allowed me to get on with my job. It was just a pleasure to have him. He’s done an amazing job.”

And asked if he was enjoying being Bond, he said: “You can’t not enjoy this.”

Craig also revealed something of his relationship with Dench, his on-screen boss M, saying: “It’s about mothers and sons.”

He was also full of praise for No Country For Old Men star Bardem, who plays the film’s baddie, saying: “He’s created one of the best Bond villains there is, I think.”

Dench, who revealed she had yet to see the film, told Sky M bossed Bond around all the time, jokingly saying her character “is appalling isn’t she?”.

Describing the script as “wonderful”, Dench said the enthusiasm over the film “has been just lovely, that’s been really lovely”.

She, too, was full of praise for Mendes, saying he was a “terrific film director … thrilling to work with”.

She agreed Craig was also special to work with, as was Bardem, joking: “How spoilt can you be?”

Dench told how different it was working on a Bond film to any other, saying producers Broccoli and Wilson “make you feel very, very welcome”.

“They make you feel part of the franchise and the family,” she added.

Asked for her opinion on how the Bond franchise had been going so long, she mused: “Isn’t he just very British? Isn’t he a hero that we love … and a daredevil, all those stunts and things? I think it’s lovely – and exciting.”

Mendes told Sky that working on a Bond film was special because of “the scale of it… what it means to everybody else, how excited people are”.

“You feel like you’re looking after something that’s public property. You have to look after it properly.”

He explained: “I just wanted to make a film that I would love to see. I also wanted to channel my inner 13-year-old boy, see if I could get back in touch with him again.”

Harris, who insists she is playing “a Bond woman, not a Bond girl”, told Sky: “It’s a dream come true. I grew up loving Bond, so it just feels amazing to me to be part of this.”

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