The Prince and Princess of Wales will not attend the 2025 British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards ceremony on Sunday evening, a Kensington Palace statement confirmed.
Prince William who serves as BAFTA President, hasn’t attended the awards consecutively each year but the Prince instead, will continue to focus his efforts on supporting the next generation of British film talent, with another planned engagement.
William, however, will make an appearance in a video package during the awards ceremony on February 16.
The awards ceremony will also coincide with the start of Kate and William’s children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis’s, half-term holiday.
This isn’t the first time that William, 42, has missed the star-studded event. He did not make the awards in 2021 as a result of his grandfather’s sudden passing, while in 2022, he wasn’t present due to “diary constraints”.
Last year, William made a solo red carpet appearance while Princess Kate continued to recover at home following her planned abdominal surgery.
On Wednesday, however, William is set to visit the London Screen Academy in Islington on Wednesday where he will see how the academy is working to nurture future talent in the film and TV industries. The prince will engage with those studying costume, makeup and production as they work on their final-year collaboration project.
The independent British arts charity aims to bring the best in film, games, and television to public attention and supports the growth of creative talent in the UK and internationally.
The charity also hosts a number of other awards ceremonies each year and has a year-round programme of learning events such as workshops, masterclasses, scholarships, lectures, and mentoring schemes in the UK, USA and Asia.
William was appointed as president of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts back in 2010. It’s a role he took over from Lord Attenborough.
Before that, Princess Anne held the role from 1972 to 2000, while Prince Philip was the first President of BAFTA from 1959 to 1965.
The charity states it drives “the progress that is needed on accessibility, inclusion and sustainability in the screen arts”.
