The Duke of Cambridge has withdrawn from coverage of this weekend’s BAFTA awards following the death of his grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh.
This year’s film awards will be presented over two evenings in largely virtual ceremonies, with presenters attending London’s Royal Albert Hall in person for Sunday’s broadcast.
Prince William, who is the president of BAFTA, was scheduled to perform in a pre-recorded conversation with costume designer Jenny Beavan and makeup and hair designer Sharon Martin on Saturday about filming in lockdown and the craft of movie making.
On Sunday, he was scheduled to deliver a video speech to celebrate the resilience of the film industry over the past year – but BAFTA has confirmed that he will no longer be attending the ceremony.
The Duke of Edinburgh, who died at Windsor Castle yesterday at the age of 99, was the first president of the BAFTA, served from 1959 to 1965, and continued to support the organization throughout his life.
The Duke of Cambridge (pictured at the BAFTAs in 2020) has withdrawn from coverage of this weekend’s BAFTA awards following the death of his grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Phillip and Prince William looked at the photo as they enjoyed the build-up to the 2015 Rugby World Cup final between New Zealand and Australia at Twickenham Stadium on October 31, 2015 in London.
BAFTA said in a statement: ‘In light of the death of the Duke of Edinburgh, the Duke of Cambridge will no longer be part of the BAFTA programming this weekend. Our thoughts are with the royal family, to whom we offer our deepest condolences at this time.
Among the UK contenders for awards this year are Daniel Kaluuya, Vanessa Kirby and Riz Ahmed, who broadcast Saturday’s craft awards on BBC Two at a ceremony hosted by Clara Amfo.
Actor, writer and director Noel Clarke will be awarded the Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award on Saturday, during a show that also features a performance by nominated supporting actor Leslie Odom Jr, who sings Speak Now from his movie One Night In Miami. .
The main ceremony on Sunday will be hosted by Dermot O’Leary and Edith Bowman, when the remaining 17 awards will be presented and Director Ang Lee will be honored with the BAFTA Fellowship.
Presenters including Hugh Grant, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Tom Hiddleston will appear in person at the Royal Albert Hall, while nominees will appear virtually.
This year’s film awards will be presented over two evenings in largely virtual ceremonies, with presenters attending London’s Royal Albert Hall in person for Sunday’s broadcast. Pictured, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at the BAFTA Awards 2020)
Road movie Nomadland and coming-of-age drama Rocks lead the various nominations, with four female filmmakers competing for the prize for best director.
Chadwick Boseman, who died last August at the age of 43 due to complications related to colon cancer, has received a posthumous BAFTA nomination for his performance as an aspiring trumpet player in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.
Also nominated in the Best Actor category is Ahmed for his role as a drummer who is losing his hearing in Sound Of Metal, as well as Adarsh Gourav for The White Tiger, Tahar Rahim for The Mauritanian, Sir Anthony Hopkins for his turn in drama The Father, about a man sliding into dementia, and Mads Mikkelsen for Another Round.
The nominees in the Leading Actress BAFTA category are Bukky Bakray for Rocks, Radha Blank for The Forty-Year-Old Version, Kirby for Pieces Of A Woman, Frances McDormand for Nomadland, Wunmi Mosaku for His House and Alfre Woodard for Clemency.
Female directors were completely absent from the shortlist in 2020, but this year, four of the six are women, with nods to Shannon Murphy for Babyteeth, Jasmila Zbanic for Quo Vadis, Aida ?, Sarah Gavron for Rocks and Chloe Zhao for Nomadland, as well as Thomas Vinterberg for Another Round and Lee Isaac Chung for Minari.
The Queen announced the death of her husband, Prince Philip, on Friday when the Union Flag was lowered at half mast outside Buckingham Palace. Pictured, Queen and Prince Philip in 2007
Kaluuya has been nominated for his role as Black Panther leader Fred Hampton in Judas And The Black Messiah, and he will compete against Leslie Odom Jr for One Night In Miami, Clarke Peters for Da Five Bloods, Paul Raci for Sound Of Metal, Barry Keoghan for Calm With Horses and Minari actor Alan Kim, who at eight years old is the youngest BAFTA nominee ever.
His co-star, Yuh-Jung Youn, has been nominated in the supporting actor category alongside Niamh Algar for Calm With Horses, Kosar Ali for Rocks, Maria Bakalova for Borat Subsequent Movie Film, Dominique Fishback for Judas And The Black Messiah and Ashley Madekwe. for County Lines.
The Duke of Edinburgh, who died Friday at the age of 99, became BAFTA’s first president in 1959, a year after the British Film Academy and the Guild of Television Producers and Directors merged to form the Society of Film and Television Arts (SFTA) , a precursor. from BAFTA.
He also attended the inauguration of BAFTA’s London headquarters after he and the Queen donated their share of the profits from the 1969 documentary Royal Family to SFTA.
The opening night of the EE BAFTA Film Awards will air on April 10 at 8pm on BBC Two, while the EE British Academy Film Awards will be broadcast on April 11 at 7pm on BBC One.