Prince William is set to bring with him a royal finesse to the forthcoming BAFTA Awards ceremony on February 19 IST. However, it is believed that he will be attending the event without his wife, Kate Middleton, who is currently recuperating from a significant abdominal surgery undergone last month.
Kensington Palace confirmed that the Prince of Wales will be attending “the EE BAFTA Film Awards ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall on Sunday 18th February.” The Palace added, “The Prince, President of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) will watch the Awards ceremony before meeting category winners and EE Rising Star Award nominees.”
Serving as the president of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts since 2010, Prince William is a frequent attendee at the annual awards. Often accompanying him is Princess Kate. Just last year itself, they also foresaw a wonderful tribute given to the late Queen, who had passed away a few months before the celebrated night. Dame Helen Mirren led the tribute and said, “Your Majesty, you were our nation’s leading star. On behalf of BAFTA, thank you for all that you have done for our film and television industry.” Prince William and Kate seemed touched by the words and were observed applauding.
However, the past few weeks have been tough for the Royal Family. Buckingham Palace revealed that King Charles received a diagnosis of a form of cancer in less than 18 months of his coronation, and is undergoing treatment. Concurrently, Kate underwent a planned abdominal surgery that required her to be hospitalized 13 days post the successful procedure. A source close to the royal couple told PEOPLE, “He (Prince William) is coping remarkably well considering his wife had surgery and he only found out his father’s news recently.”
As for this year’s BAFTAs, beloved ‘Doctor Who’ actor David Tennant will be taking over the hosting duties. Though the wait to find out who will win big awards, Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’ is leading with 13 nominations, closely followed by Yorgos Lanthimos’ ‘Poor Things’ with 11 nods.
Indian viewers can watch the 2024 BAFTAs live on February 19, 12:30 AM IST on Lionsgate Play.
