The 2020 BAFTA's
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attended the British Academy Film Awards for the fourth year in a row on Sunday night. Prince William is President of BAFTA, a role he has held since 2010. This year, BAFTA asked that guests dress sustainably this year and in response Catherine re-wore a white and gold Alexander McQueen dress she first wore in 2012 on a tour of Malaysia.
The show was hosted by popular chat show host, Graham Norton who made a playful jab at Prince William during his opening monologue. He poked fun at his posh royal lifestyle by insinuating The Duke of Cambridge might not find Royal Albert Hall as breathtaking as the rest of the guests. Jokes at the expense of the Royal Family seemed to be a theme of the night with both Brad Pitt and Rebel Wilson mentioning the Sussex's exit from the family while they were on stage. William and Catherine handled the jabs with grace and humility, laughing when appropriate.
Despite their professionalism about the jokes, I didn't find them in particularly good taste considering that the most likely reason for Meghan & Harry's exit was intense media spotlight and scrutiny. Using the Sussex's names in order to get headlines written about their speeches (which is what ended up happening) seemed like a poor way to respect their repeated requests for privacy. In addition the jabs were not made to Meghan and Harry who made the decision to step back and I seriously doubt these jokes would have been made in their presence. Rather, during an already difficult time in their family, William and Catherine had to sit through jokes at their family members.
Prince William presented a fellowship to Kathleen Kennedy during the awards. During his speech the Duke joked about how many winners of the BAFTA's played members of his own family over his last ten years as president of the organization. He also got quite serious about the lack of diversity in BAFTA winners during his time as president and stated that they would be conducting an investigation into this. He made a much stronger statement than he typically does saying;
"We find ourselves talking again about the need to do more to ensure diversity in the sector and the awards process. That simply cannot be right in this day and age."
Following the awards, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge met with the winners which included Renee Zellweger, Joaquin Phoenix and the cast of 1917. The Duke and Duchess are keeping a busy schedule with a visit to Wales this week and a join engagement with the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall next week. xx