The Duke of Cambridge has withdrawn from BAFTA coverage this weekend following the death of his grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh.
This year’s film awards will be handed out over two nights in virtually virtual ceremonies, with presenters personally attending London’s Royal Albert Hall for Sunday’s broadcast.
Prince William, who is president of BAFTA, was due to appear on Saturday in a previously recorded conversation with costume designer Jenny Beavan and makeup and hairdressing designer Sharon Martin, who spoke about closed filming and the craft of making movies.
On Sunday, he was due to deliver a video speech, celebrating the resistance of the film industry over the past year, but BAFTA has confirmed it will no longer participate in the ceremony.
The Duke of Edinburgh, who died yesterday at Windsor Castle at the age of 99, was the first BAFTA president, who served from 1959 to 1965, and continued to support the organization throughout his life.
The Duke of Cambridge (pictured at BAFTA in 2020) has withdrawn from BAFTA coverage this weekend following the death of his grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh.
Prince Phillip and Prince William enjoyed preparing for the final match of the 2015 Rugby World Cup between New Zealand and Australia at Twickenham Stadium on 31 October 2015 in London.
BAFTA said in a statement: “In light of the passing of the Duke of Edinburgh, the Duke of Cambridge will no longer be part of the BAFTA program this weekend. Our thoughts are on the royal family, whom we offer our deepest sympathy at this time ‘.
British nominees for this year’s awards include Daniel Kaluuya, Vanessa Kirby and Riz Ahmed, with Saturday’s craft awards at BBC Two at a ceremony hosted by Clara Amfo.
Actor, writer and director Noel Clarke will be recognized on Saturday with the Outstanding British Contribution Award for film during a show that will also feature the performance of nominee for supporting actor Leslie Odom Jr, who will sing Speak Now from his movie One Night In Miami.
Sunday’s main ceremony will be hosted by Dermot O’Leary and Edith Bowman, when the remaining 17 awards will be presented and director Ang Lee will be awarded 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 handed out over two nights in virtually virtual ceremonies, with presenters personally attending London’s Royal Albert Hall for Sunday’s broadcast. In the photo, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at the BAFTA Awards 2020)
Nomadland road movies and the Rocks drama of her age lead the various nominations, with four female filmmakers competing for the Best Director award.
Chadwick Boseman, who died at the age of 43 last August from complications related to colon cancer, received a posthumous BAFTA nomination for his performance as an ambitious trumpeter in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom .
He is also nominated for Best Actor Ahmed for his drumming role 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 who falls into dementia and Mads Mikkelsen for Another Round.
Nominated for BAFTA Lead Actress are Bukky Bakray for Rocks, Radha Blank for The Forty-Year-Old Version, Kirby for A Woman’s Pieces, Frances McDormand for Nomadland, Wunmi Mosaku for His House and Alfre Woodard for Clemency.
The female directors were completely absent from the shortlist in 2020, but this year four of the six are women, gesturing 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, at noon on Friday as the Union flag was lowered at half-mast in front of Buckingham Palace. In the picture, the queen and Prince Philip in 2007
Kaluuya is nominated for his role as Black Panther leader Fred Hampton in Judas And The Black Messiah, and 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 by Calm With Horses, and Mining actor Alan Kim, who is the youngest BAFTA candidate at age eight.
Her co-star, Yuh-Jung Youn, is nominated in the supporting actress category, alongside Niamh Algar for Calm With Horses, Kosar Ali for Rocks, Maria Bakalova for Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Dominique Fishback for Judas and The Black Messiah and Ashley Madekwe scores a goal for County Lines.
The Duke of Edinburgh, who died on Friday at the age of 99, became the first president of BAFTA 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 forerunner of BAFTA.
He was also present at the official opening of BAFTA headquarters in London, after he and the Queen gave the SFTA their share of the profits from the 1969 documentary Royal Family.
The opening night of the EE BAFTA Film Awards will be broadcast on April 10 at 8pm on BBC Two while the EE British Academy Film Awards will be broadcast at 7pm on BBC One on April 11 .