Prince William stepped out for the 2024 British Academy Movie Awards on Sunday, February 18, however his standard plus one, Princess Kate Middleton, was not by his aspect one month after her belly surgical procedure.
“I’m sorry Catherine’s not right here. She does love the BAFTAs,” the Prince of Wales, 41, informed Elaine Bedell, chief government of the Southbank Middle, on the awards present.
William attended the ceremony on the Royal Competition Corridor in London by himself. He seemed dapper in a navy velvet blazer, which he paired with black trousers and an identical bowtie.
“I keep in mind final yr concerning the movies that you just’d watched,” Bedell replied, to which William mentioned, “All those I watch, she watches with me. So we undergo it rigorously.”
William admitted he’s watched “the fewest I’ve ever executed earlier than” concerning this yr’s movies, including, “I’ve had rather a lot on my thoughts. … However hopefully, I’ll catch up.”
He allegedly gushed over Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, however he hasn’t checked Barbie off the record but, telling the Every day Telegraph, “however I wish to.”
Days earlier than the ceremony, Kensington Palace confirmed that William can be on the occasion sans Kate, 42. “The prince, president of the British Academy of Movie and Tv Arts (BAFTA), will watch the awards ceremony earlier than assembly class winners and EE Rising Star Award nominees,” learn a press release to Folks on Friday, February 16.
Kate has been taking a break from royal engagements since present process a “deliberate” belly process final month. “The surgical procedure was profitable, and it’s anticipated that she is going to stay in hospital for 10 to 14 days, earlier than returning residence to proceed her restoration,” Kensington Palace shared through X (previously Twitter) on January 17. “Primarily based on the present medical recommendation, she is unlikely to return to public duties till after Easter.”
In line with the assertion, Kate hoped that well-wishers would “perceive her need to take care of as a lot normality for her kids as attainable” and respect “her want that her private medical info stays personal.” (William and Kate, who tied the knot in April 2011, share Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5.)

Prince William talks with Cate Blanchett throughout the BAFTA British Academy Movie Awards in London on February 18, 2024. JORDAN PETTITT/POOL/AFP through Getty Photographs
The assertion concluded: “The Princess of Wales needs to apologize to all these involved for the truth that she has to postpone her upcoming engagements. She appears to be like ahead to reinstating as many as attainable, as quickly as attainable.”
The palace confirmed on January 29 that Kate was launched from the hospital to proceed her recuperation at residence. Whereas William took a transient hiatus from his royal duties after the operation, he returned to work on February 7.
Previous to her process, Kate was final seen in public on Christmas Day as she attended a church service with the household in Sandringham. She sometimes accompanies William to the BAFTAs, as she did most just lately in February 2023. On the time, Kate shocked in a white one-shoulder Alexander McQueen robe and black gloves, whereas William sported a modern black swimsuit.
As for William resuming his engagements amid Kate’s restoration, he stepped up after his father, King Charles III, revealed his personal well being battle. In January, the monarch, 75, underwent a corrective process for an enlarged prostate. Buckingham Palace later confirmed that Charles was identified with “a type of most cancers,” for which he had “commenced a schedule of standard therapies.” He was “suggested by docs to postpone public-facing duties,” although he has continued “to undertake state enterprise and official paperwork as standard.”