William and Catherine, the Prince and Princess of Wales, attended the BAFTA Film Awards in London on Sunday night.
Prince William, dressed in a burgundy velvet jacket and black tie, and Catherine (formerly known as Kate Middleton) in a floor-length pink Gucci dress, walked the red carpet but did not stop to speak to press as they made their way into the Royal Festival Hall.
Although William is the president of BAFTA, it was unknown whether he would attend the star-studded event on Sunday night given the drama currently roiling his family. Unlike previous years, BAFTA gave no hint as to whether or not attendees, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Hudson and Chloe Zhao, should expect the second in line to the throne at the ceremony.
The couple did not attend last year. In 2024 William arrived at the event solo as his wife was recovering from abdominal surgery, which was later revealed to be cancer-related. She last attended in 2023.
Their presence this year, despite the arrest of William’s uncle, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, last week on suspicion of misconduct in a public office, is a sign that it’s business as usual for the British royal family.
Hours after Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest senior members of the royal family went ahead with pre-arranged public appearances, including King Charles II at London Fashion Week and his sister, Princess Anne, at a men’s prison in Leeds.
If convicted, Mountbatten-Windsor, previously known as the Duke of York (until he was stripped of his title last year), could face a life sentence.
Love Film & TV?
Get your daily dose of everything happening in music, film and TV in Australia and abroad.
There is reportedly concern about whether any jokes or even comments relating to the disgraced royal will be made on stage during the awards although the ceremony is thought to be in safe hands with “The Traitors U.S.” host Alan Cumming compering this year. In 2020 BAFTA host Rebel Wilson joked about both Prince Harry and Andrew while William and Kate sat front row in the audience. “It’s really great to be here at the Royal Andrew, no Royal Harry, no sorry, Royal Phila-, no Royal palace, place…” she jokingly fumbled while opening the ceremony, which took place some two months after Mountbatten-Windsor’s disastrous “Newsnight” interview and mere weeks after William’s brother Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, announced they would be taking a step back from their royal duties.
While Cumming handed back his royal honor for activism in 2023, which he said was prompted by the Queen’s death and “ensuing conversations about the role of monarchy,” he is unlikely to want to cause embarrassment to either the royal couple of BAFTA by mentioning the scandal in his monologue. He previously hosted the BAFTA Television Awards in 2025.
Prince William has been president of BAFTA since 2010.
From Variety US