Kate Middleton has apparently been banned from the BAFTAs

We couldn’t have predicted that one…

The BAFTA awards are finally in sight with the ceremony taking place at the Royal Albert Hall on February 12th.

With the 2017 nominations revealed earlier this month, seeing La La Land scoop up a whopping (and very well deserved) 11 nominations, everything seemed on track for this year’s BAFTA awards to be one for the ages.

The latest BAFTA news, however, did take us by surprise as it was revealed that Kate Middleton was supposedly ‘banned’ from the awards.

As president of the academy, Prince William was planning on attending the 2017 BAFTA awards, which is huge news considering he hasn’t attended for the past two years – something that has not gone unnoticed by the media, with some criticising him for attending less public engagements than Prince Charles when he was the same age.

On the subject of bringing the Duchess of Cambridge with him, however, Prince William was apparently told that Kate’s presence could be a ‘distraction’.

Senior staff have supposedly raised their concerns that she would ‘outshine’ the A-List stars attending, the BAFTA nominees including Emma Stone, Natalie Portman, Nicole Kidman and Michelle Williams.

If Kate and William were to grace the red carpet it would be a historic moment, with the Duchess of Cornwall never having attended the BAFTA awards before.

BAFTA have been quick to insist that Kate is of course welcome, announcing ‘We would be delighted to welcome Their Royal Highnesses any year they are able to attend.’

Jenny Proudfoot is an award-winning journalist, specialising in lifestyle, culture, entertainment, international development and politics. After working at Marie Claire UK for seven years - rising from intern to Features Editor - she is now a freelance contributor to the News and Features section.

In 2021, Jenny was named as a winner on the PPA's '30 under 30' list, and was also listed as a rising star in journalism.