Helen Mirren to Lead a Tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at the 2023 BAFTA Awards

Queen Elizabeth II
ROYAL HOUSEHOLD/RANALD MACKECHNIE/PA

The tribute will honor the Queen's close association with the British Academy.

The upcoming 2023 BAFTA Awards will pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, who died at the age of 96 on Sept. 8, 2022. The special segment will be led by Dame Helen Mirren, who previously won a BAFTA for her portrayal of the late royal in the 2006 biopic, The Queen. 

"The Queen occupies a unique place in BAFTA's history, a close association that spanned 50 years. Through her various patronages, The Queen was renowned for her support of the UK’s creative industries," the British Academy said in a statement.

The segment will be presented in front of Prince William, who serves as the President of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and Kate Middleton, who are expected to attend Sunday's ceremony at London’s Royal Festival Hall. The two are slated to watch the awards before meeting the category winners and EE Rising Star nominees.  

This will mark the royal couple's first in-person appearance at the BAFTAs since 2020. 

News of the tribute was revealed on Tuesday as the BAFTAs announced the full slate of attending nominees and presenters, which includes Ariana DeBose, Brian Cox, Catherine-Zeta-Jones, Cynthia Erivo, Jodie Turner-Smith, Lily James, Regé Jean Page, Sir Patrick Stewart, Sophie Turner, Taron Egerton and more. 

"It is an absolute pleasure to welcome so many nominees and film industry guests to the EE BAFTA Film Awards on Sunday," said Jane Millichip, CEO of BAFTA. "This year’s Awards are shaping up to be one of our most well attended on record, which is a ringing endorsement of the importance of British audiences to the global film industry, and BAFTA’s role in bringing these incredible films and filmmakers to public attention." 

She added, "BAFTA’s membership of 7500 industry experts have been voting and I can’t wait to find out which names will be read out on the night." 

As previously announced, Richard E. Grant will host the 76th annual film awards while Alison Hammond will interview the presenters and winners backstage at the new BAFTA Studio. This year's ceremony will be available to stream in the U.S. on BritBox. 

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