Nicole Kidman and Jude Law at the premiere of Cold Mountain in London. (Reuters)

London, Dec. 15: The making of Cold Mountain was dogged by controversy, atrocious weather and rumours about an off-screen liaison between its co-stars Jude Law and Nicole Kidman. But last night its troubles seemed far away as Prince Charles met the stars at the London premiere.

Kidman, 36, arrived in Leicester Square in an elegant cream Chanel jacket and layered skirt over an elaborate gold blouse and stilettos. Law, 30, walked up the red carpet with his mother Maggie before posing for pictures with his co-star. He revealed that working on the film gave him “a lot of time to think”.

Cold Mountain, believed to be a strong contender for an Oscar, is an epic film set towards the end of the American Civil War in which Law plays a wounded Confederate deserter, Inman, struggling to make his way home to his sweetheart Ada, played by Kidman. It is based on Charles Frazier’s novel and is the most ambitious yet from director Anthony Minghella, whose previous films include The Talented Mr Ripley, The English Patient and Truly Madly Deeply.

Law’s six-year marriage to Sadie Frost began to fall apart while he was on the set of Cold Mountain. There were rumours that he had become close to Kidman and Frost was suffering post-natal depression following the birth last year of the couple’s fourth child, Rudy.