On the 12th of February 2017, William and Kate attended the EE British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs) together for the first time.
BAFTA is an independent charity that supports, develops and promotes the art forms of the moving image by identifying and rewarding excellence, inspiring practitioners and benefiting the public.
In addition to its Awards ceremonies, BAFTA has a year-round programme of learning events and initiatives – featuring workshops, masterclasses, scholarships, lectures and mentoring schemes – in the UK, USA and Asia.
You may recall William, Kate and Harry attended a “Shaun the Sheep” event co-hosted by BAFTA and Aardman Animations back in October 2015. The two organisations ran the event for The Charities Forum, the collection of 30+ charities that Their Royal Highnesses are Patron of, or work closely with.
In addition, the couple attended a BAFTA “Brits to Watch” event in Los Angeles as part of the North American Tour back in July 2011.
The Royal Family have a long history with the BAFTA organisation. All but one of BAFTA’s presidents have been members of the Royal Family. Prince Philip was the organisation’s first president in 1959. Today, Prince William is the president. He’s been the president since 2010.
Back to this year’s awards. William and Kate walked the red carpet at London’s Royal Albert Hall. People uploaded a video of the red carpet arrivals, which you can view below. The video will start at the exact time William and Kate arrive –
After walking the red carpet, the couple settled down to watch the awards ceremony.
At the end of the ceremony, Prince William presented the “Fellowship” award, which is the Academy’s lifetime achievement award. You can watch this moment below:
Kate’s outfit:
Kate chose a Bardot-style dress by Alexander McQueen.
The black dress featured small white flowers and a long tiered skirt. It’s a bespoke version of the designer’s Tiered Violet Jacquard Dress from the Fall 2016 collection. The Alexander McQueen team have modified the bust and straps of the dress for Kate.
Here’s how Alexander McQueen describes the dress on their website:
Black mix violet jacquard Long Tier Dress. Thin straps, boning within the bodice with built in bra construction. Organza layering throughout the skirt.
The dress was made from a silk mix fabric. Here’s a close up of the detailing:
Kate carried a new clutch bag, also by Alexander McQueen.
It’s the label’s Heart-clasp Satin Box Clutch.
The box clutch is set around a gold-tone metal frame and features a two-tone heart-shaped metal clasp with sparkling crystals and faux pearls. It retails for $2075 USD / £1659 GBP at MatchesFashion.com.
Kate wore a gigantic pair of earrings for the BAFTA ceremony.
Susan from What Kate Wore describes them perfectly:
The upper portion of the earrings has a pear shaped central stone surrounded by diamonds, or what appears to be diamonds. The showstopping lower pendant also has a pear-shaped central stone, although it is reversed, with the point of the stone at the top. This stone is also surrounded by diamonds. It has been suggested the stones could be morganite or quartz.
I’ve zoomed in for you, so you can see the beautiful earrings close up:
It appears Kate first wore the earrings to the 100 Women in Hedge Funds gala back in 2011. However, Kate wore her hair down that evening and the earrings were difficult to see. Sadly, we do not have any further details about the earrings.
Thankfully, Kate’s other jewellery is more familiar. She’s wearing the “Wedding Gift Bracelet“.
The bracelet was Prince Philip’s wedding gift to The Queen back in 1947.
Kate first loaned the diamond bracelet back in 2015 for the Chinese State Banquet. It’s created from diamonds taken from a tiara that belonged to the Duke’s mother, Princess Andrew of Greece and Denmark and set in platinum. You can read further details about the bracelet and its origins on this page.
Kate wore her Prada Wavy Cut Sandals for the awards ceremony.
The shoes feature a pointed toe, a three-inch heel and cutout detailing. They were made in Italy.
They’re from a past season collection, so they’re no longer available for purchase, unfortunately. They originally retailed for $750 USD (around £600 GBP at today’s rates). You can view the archived page on NeimanMarcus.com here.
