- The Prince and Princess of Wales made a surprise appearance at the 2026 British Academy Film Awards on Sunday.
- This was the future King and Queen's first joint appearance at the BAFTAs since 2023, with Prince William attending solo in 2024.
- Prince William has been President of BAFTA since 2010.
The 2026 BAFTAs are officially underway, with A-listers descending on London's Royal Festival Hall from far and wide to celebrate the past year in film.
And while the 79th British Academy Film Awards attracted Hollywood royalty from Kate Hudson to Paul Mescal, it was an actual royal appearance that made the most headlines.
In a surprise move, Prince William and Princess Kate graced the BAFTA red carpet, attending the ceremony together for the first time since 2023. And with their impromptu award season appearance being their first in three years, the news has of course gone viral.
The future King and Queen's appearance is not completely unexpected, with Prince William being a regular attendee of the Awards since he became President of BAFTA in 2010. And in the years since, the Prince and Princess of Wales have attended together on five separate occasions.
However, the Princess of Wales has not attended the ceremony since 2023, missing the Awards in 2024 to focus on her cancer recovery, with Prince William attending solo. And neither Prince William nor Princess Kate made an appearance the following year.
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It was not known whether the Prince and Princess of Wales would attend this year's BAFTA Awards, particularly given the recent royal controversy, with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
Prince William and Princess Kate have not commented on Andrew's arrest, however they did issue a rare statement expressing their concern at the unfolding revelations from the Epstein files.
"I can confirm The Prince and Princess have been deeply concerned by the continuing revelations," a spokesperson announced on behalf of the royal couple.
We will continue to update this story.
The BAFTAs is available to watch on BBC iPlayer and BBC One.
