Prince William sent jaws dropping after he suggested that the BAFTAs’ Rising Star winner Mia McKenna-Bruce seemed to have been enjoying her role in How To Have Sex.
The Prince of Wales – who is also the Bafta president – met with all the nominees backstage but made a blunder with Mia McKenna-Bruce.
The senior royal admitted during the evening that he hadn’t had time to watch many of the nominated films, as he’d had “other things” on his mind. His wife Kate has been in hospital recovering from abdominal surgery, while King Charles was recently diagnosed with cancer, and it hadn’t initially been known whether William would attend the prestigious film awards at all due to him confirming his appearance late.
Backstage at the ceremony, the 41-year-old had shaken hands with Mia and her fellow nominees, Ayo Edebiri, Phoebe Dynevor and Sophie Wilde. He then told Mia, who won the Rising Star award at London’s Royal Festival Hall: “I haven’t yet watched your film – I think it looked like you had a lot of fun all the way through.”
Mia, who has described the movie as a must-see for “young people in particular who are at this point in their lives of self-discovery”, urged William to watch it. He clarified that he had “got a lot of films to catch up on”.
“Normally I get quite ahead of the awards ceremony, I get to see quite a few of them. I haven’t managed to get that many through [this time],” the Prince explained. He also praised the Rising Star nominees, exclaiming: “The category was so strong, all of you – it was like, ‘Who is going to pull this off?’ It was very close between all of you.”
William’s appearance had been a last-minute solo one, and Kate, who is usually by his side at engagements, had remained at home while continuing to recover from her surgery.
He apologised to organisers for her absence, explaining: “I am sorry Catherine’s not here, she does love the BAFTAs.”
Meanwhile, How To Have Sex premiered in May 2023 at Cannes Film Festival and has enjoyed great acclaim ever since.
The EE Rising Star winner’s movie How To Have Sex is a harrowing tale of sexual assault. Mia previously discussed the movie’s plot: “There’s a kind of expectation that you should just know what to do when it comes to losing your virginity or talking about consent, then you’re just left to figure it out on your own.”
Meanwhile, Prince William confirmed at the BAFTAs ceremony on Sunday night that he’d watched Oppenheimer – but, to the shock of some, was yet to catch Barbie.
He added that he typically watches movies on his television at home, but will occasionally visit the cinema to celebrate a major release.
Earlier in the evening, William had apologised for not confirming his attendance sooner, addressing the fact he hadn’t seen many of the 38 nominated films this year.
“I’ve done the fewest I’ve ever done before, with my wife it’s been a bit – hopefully we’ll catch up,” William told the chief executive of the Southbank Centre Elaine Bedell.
