Prince William will no longer make an appearance at tonight’s BAFTAs following news of his grandfather’s death.
The Duke of Cambridge had originally been scheduled to appear at the glitzy bash, which takes place tonight (April 10) and tomorrow (April 11).
However, his plans have been cancelled following the death of his grandfather, Prince Philip, aged 99.
Prince William news: Duke cancels BAFTAs appearance
Prince William is President of BAFTA and was set to give a virtual speech at the awards.
He was expected to discuss the resilience of the film industry over the past year.
The organisation said in a statement: “In light of the Duke of Edinburgh’s passing, the Duke of Cambridge will no longer be part of BAFTA programming this weekend.
“Our thoughts are with the royal family, to whom we offer our deepest sympathy at this time.”
TV schedules were wiped across the BBC and ITV following Prince Philip’s death on Friday (April 9).
Read more: The Queen ‘has lost her world’ following death of Prince Philip, says cousin
As a result, many shows were delayed until a later date.
However, the BAFTAs will go ahead as planned and air across Saturday and Sunday night.
Eight winners will be revealed tonight.
The rest will then be announced tomorrow.
Due to COVID guidelines in the UK, all nominees will be appearing via video rather than in-person.
What about Prince William’s brother Harry?
While Harry was not due to attend the ceremony, he is expected to return to the UK “imminently”.
It will mark his first time stepping foot in the country since his explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey.
There is currently speculation as to whether he will be joined by his wife, Meghan Markle.
Meghan is currently heavily pregnant and the couple are thought to be weighing up their options.
Read more: Prince Philip death: Prince Charles, Princess Anne and Prince Edward pay tribute
A source close to the family Mail Online on Friday: “Harry will absolutely do his utmost to get back to the UK and be with his family.
“He will want nothing more than to be there for his family, and particularly his grandmother, during this awful time.
“Meghan is obviously pregnant so she will need to take advice from her doctors about whether it is safe for her to travel, but I think Harry will definitely go.”
The BAFTAs Opening Night airs tonight at 8pm on BBC Two.
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