The BAFTAs is always an incredibly star-studded affair as our favourite TV and film stars don their glad rags for a night celebrating their achievements. This year, BAFTAs seemingly marked date night for a lot of nominated stars, including Carey Mulligan who brought her husband, singer Marcus Mumford, and Robert Downey Jr., who brought his wife Susan. But for Prince William and Kate Middleton - regular attendees of the BAFTAs - that sadly isn't the case.
Why do Prince William and Kate usually attend the BAFTAs? Well, William has been the president of the BAFTAs since 2010, following in the footsteps of the late Prince Phillip who was the first-ever president of the academy. As a result, the Prince and Princess of Wales have become regular fixtures at the award ceremony - last year, Kate Middleton hit headlineswhen she paired a stunning white, one-shoulder Alexander McQueen dress with Zara earrings.
This year however, the EE BAFTAs didn't mark date night for the Prince and Princess of Wales. While William arrived at the event just before 6pm in a very dapper blue velvet jacket, Kate Middleton opted out of attending the BAFTAs due to her recent surgery.
Earlier this week a statement from Kensington Palace confirmed Prince William’s solo attendance saying, ‘The Prince, President of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) will watch the Awards ceremony before meeting category winners and EE Rising Star Award nominees.’
Without Kate there as his plus one, William ended up sitting next to actress Cate Blanchett, who won the Best Actress BAFTA last year for her role in Tar.
Following the ceremony, William caught up with BAFTA Rising Star winner Mia McKenna-Bruce, as well as her fellow nominees Ayo Edebiri, Phoebe Dynevor and Sophie Wilde.
Why was Kate Middleton not at the BAFTAs?
On 16 January, Kate Middleton was hospitalised for ‘planned abdominal surgery’ at The London Clinic, where she remained for just under two weeks. The day after she was admitted, Kensington Palace announced, ‘The surgery was successful… She hopes that the public will understand her desire to maintain as much normality for her children as possible; and her wish that her personal medical information remains private.’
After spending some time post-surgery at Adelaide Cottage in Windsor, Kate returned to her family in Norfolk to be reunited with her children. However, according to Kensington Palace, ‘Based on the current medical advice, she is unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter.’
The statement continued, ‘The Princess of Wales wishes to apologise to all those concerned for the fact that she has to postpone her upcoming engagements. She looks forward to reinstating as many as possible, as soon as possible.’
Therefore, Prince William was forced to attend the 2024 EE BAFTAs solo as Kate continued to recover.
Sadly, that also means that we didn't bear witness to her latest incredible outfit choice and had to live vicariously through her previous looks, which you can see for yourself in this gallery of Kate Middleton’s best BAFTA looks.
Kate Middleton’s Best BAFTA Dresses
1 of 52020
For 2020's BAFTAs, Kate Middleton followed one of her favourite tricks and recycled a dress she'd worn previously, which was perfect considering the theme of the event was 'recycle, sustainable or vintage'. This time, it was a beautiful custom-made Alexander McQueen white and gold gown that she'd worn in 2012 to a state dinner while on a royal tour of Malaysia.
2 of 52019
If anyone ever doubted the Princess of Wales belonged on the red carpet, we'd show them this picture. In 2019, Kate Middleton won the BAFTAs red carpet in a gorgeous white, one-shoulder dress designed especially for her by Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen.
3 of 52018
On BAFTAs night in 2018, all anyone could talk about was Time's Up, with many A-listers opting to wear black gowns in solidarity with the movement. And while the Princess of Wales, who was then pregnant with her third child, Prince Louis, chose not to wear a black dress that evening, she did wear this stunning deep green Jenny Packham gown (with a black belt, might we add…).
4 of 52017
2017 was the first year Kate Middleton and Prince William attended the BAFTAs together - and they did not disappoint. Kate Middleton took the red carpet by storm in an off-the-shoulder Bardot-style dress by Alexander McQueen. Eagle-eyed fans will recognise this dress, as well, as the Princess of Wales upcycled it in 2019 for the National Portrait Gallery Gala by altering the neckline and adding cap sleeves.
5 of 52011
In 2011, Kate and Will spent a few days in California as part of a royal tour of North America. While there, they added a BAFTA Reception at the Belasco Theatre in LA, where Kate Middleton wore a flowing lilac gown by Alexander McQueen.
Daisy Hall is a News and Entertainment writer on Grazia, specialising in TV and film meaning that you can count on Daisy for the latest (and best) recommendations.