Ahead of Sunday's BAFTA Award ceremony, it has been revealed that Helen Mirren will lead a 'special tribute' to the late Queen.
- The British Academy of Film and Television Arts has announced that actress Helen Mirren will lead a "special tribute" for the late Queen at this years BAFTA Award ceremony.
- The 2023 EE BAFTA Film Awards will take place in London on Sunday 19 February.
- In other royal news, King Charles' heartbreaking nod to the Queen and Prince Philip in new Coronation logo.
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts has announced that Dame Helen Mirren will pay homage to the late Queen Elizabeth II during Sunday's long awaited 2023 BAFTA Award ceremony.
The 77-year-old actress was chosen to lead the "special tribute" to the late monarch as she famously played Queen Elizabeth in the 2006 movie The Queen. She won both an Oscar and a BAFTA for her performance and even reprised the royal role, appearing in the Broadway play The Audience as the monarch in 2015.
Mirren was awarded the title of dame for her services to drama in 2003 and got to meet the late Queen at a reception at Buckingham Palace in 2011.
In a brief statement announcing the upcoming tribute, BAFTA said, "The Queen occupies a unique place in BAFTA's history, a close association that spanned 50 years. Through her various patronages, The Queen was renowned for her support of the UK's creative industries."
BAFTA had a close relationship with Queen Elizabeth throughout her record-breaking reign and, in 2013, she was even awarded a BAFTA of her own. The honorary British Academy Special Award was given to the monarch to celebrate her long standing support of film and television in the UK.
On the day of the Queen's death, BAFTA released a heartfelt statement and sent their condolences to the royal family. They wrote, "The Queen occupies a unique place in the Academy's history and will be missed enormously," a statement said. "Our thoughts are with our President, HRH The Duke of Cambridge and the Royal Family, to whom we offer our deepest sympathy."
Kensington Palace has confirmed that Prince William and Kate Middleton will attend the BAFTAs this weekend, an event they haven't attended since 2020 due to COVID and the death of William's grandfather, the Queen's husband, Prince Phillip.
The royal couple's attendance at the ceremony is no random engagement. Prince William has served as president of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts since 2010, following in the footsteps of his grandfather Prince Philip and aunt Princess Anne who served before him.
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