Prince William has withdrawn from the BAFTA Awards on Sunday (04.11.21).
The 38-year-old royal was due to deliver a speech at the annual awards show, via a video link, but he has withdrawn from the event following the passing of Prince Philip.
Prince William was set to speak about the resilience of the British film industry amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The Duke of Edinburgh was actually BAFTAâs first-ever president, between 1959 and 1965, and he continued to support the organisation throughout his life.
And after Prince Philip s passing was confirmed by Buckingham Palace on Friday (04.09.21), the organisation released a statement to express its sympathies.
Bafta host Clara Amfo praised the Duke of Edinburgh for helping to guide the academy through “difficult times” during the event’s opening night.
This year’s awards are being handed out over two nights in largely virtual ceremonies, with behind the camera categories, including casting and make-up, announced on Saturday.
Philip, who died aged 99 on Friday, became Bafta’s first president in 1959, one year after the British Film Academy and the Guild of Television Producers and Directors merged to create the Society of Film and Television Arts (SFTA), a forerunner of Bafta.
Evening 1 of @BAFTA celebrating casting, costume design, special visual effects, production design, sound, animation and short film alongside the wonderful @RhiannaDhillon@joannascanlan1 We also give a special award to @noelclarke 9pm TONIGHT BBC 2. #EEBAFTAS#BAFTAS pic.twitter.com/m784mQPCdJ
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Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom emerged as the big winner on the opening night of the Bafta film awards, which also marked the death of the academy’s former president the Duke of Edinburgh.
The film about trailblazing blues singer Ma Rainey, played by Viola Davis, scooped two gongs – costume design and hair and make-up, with other winners including Mank, Rocks and Tenet.
This year’s awards are being handed out over two nights in largely virtual ceremonies, with behind the camera categories, including casting and make-up, announced on Saturday.
The Duke of Edinburgh (John Stillwell/PA)
Clara Amfo and Rhianna Dhillon hosted from an empty Royal Albert Hall in London and were joined by actress Joanna Scanlan.