Prince William to attend Baftas solo as Kate recovers from surgery

The Prince of Wales is the president of Bafta

Prince William is expected to attend the glitzy BAFTAs solo as his wife the Princess of Wales continues to recover from abdominal surgery.

Kensington Palace confirmed that the Prince of Wales, 41, will "attend the EE BAFTA Film Awards ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall on Sunday night.

"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," the palace added.

The Prince And Princess Of Wales Attend The EE BAFTA Film Awards in 2023 (Getty Images)

Prince William has been president of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts since 2010, and he regularly attends the annual awards.

William’s late grandfather, Prince Philip, was the first president of the academy.

At the prestigious film event in 2023, William was accompanied by the Princess of Wales, who had her surgery on January 16 at the London Clinic and has since returned home to Adelaide Cottage in Windsor to be with their three children.

A friend told People magazine: "He is coping remarkably well considering his wife had surgery and he only found out his father’s news recently.”

Tonight’s ceremony will be presented by actor David Tennant in his first TV appearance since returning for a series of Doctor Who specials in 2023.

“Poor Things” and “Oppenheimer” are the leading contenders for the British Academy Film Awards, which will be handed out Sunday in front of an audience of filmmakers, movie stars and the heir to the British throne.

Yorgos Lanthimos’ gothic fantasia is up for 11 trophies, while Christopher Nolan’s atom-bomb epic has 13 nominations for the British prizes. That’s the same number “Oppenheimer” has for the Oscars, where it is also the frontrunner.

Robbie also made reference to Brexit as she accepted Pitt’s award on his behalf

In 2020, Margot Robbie made a cheeky joke about Prince Harry’s exit from the royal family and subsequent relocation to California as she accepted a best actor award for Brad Pitt.

The Barbie actress delivered her Once Upon a Time in Hollywood costar’s closing joke, saying while holding up the golden statue: “He says that he’s going to name this Harry because he’s really excited about bringing it back to the States with him. His words, not mine!”

The award show’s cameras zeroed in on the Prince and Princess of Wales’ reaction as they sat in the front row, but they were visibly unflappable, and in good nature, they laughed along with the rest of the audience.

The ceremony will be broadcast on BBC One and iPlayer from 7pm.