British film industry to be celebrated at glittering royal party

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh who will be joined by stars of stage, screen and television tonight to celebrate the British film industry at a glittering reception (PA)

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will be joined by stars of stage, screen and television tonight to celebrate the British film industry at a glittering reception.

Sir Kenneth Branagh, Sir Christopher Lee, and Downton Abbey writer Julian Fellowes are some of the famous faces invited to Windsor Castle for the event.

The reception, held in the royal residence's lavish state apartments, will recognise those involved with British films and the supporting creative industries.

Among the 300 guests will be actors, directors, writers, producers, costume and set designers, publicists and critics.

Philip will appear in his own short film during the reception - a short piece from the 1950s promoting the National Playing Fields Association

In the black and white footage created by Sir Carol Reed, who had directed The Third Man, a group of boys in search of somewhere to play finally approach the Duke, then the association's president, to ask for a playing field.

A seven minute long tribute film produced by Bafta (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) and called One Hundred Years of Film will also be screened.

In the castle's Waterloo Chamber, guests will have the opportunity to view an exhibition, curated by the Royal Collection, which will feature an entry in Queen Victoria's journal from 1896, in which she commented on the start of cinematography, and the cine-camera belonging to the Queen's father George VI.

PA