Kate Middleton hits the BAFTA red carpet in Alexander McQueen

Kate Middleton just made her very first appearance with Prince William on the BAFTA red carpet. Nothing like a bit of Royal star power to kick off proceedings...

Kate Middleton put paid to the rumour that she had been 'banned' from coming to the BAFTAs by arriving at the Sunday night ceremony with her husband Prince William.

For her BAFTAs 2017 red carpet look she picked an old favourite, posing for the cameras in a full length, black, off-the-shoulder floral gown by her wedding dress designer Alexander McQueen. She finished her look with a pair of statement earrings and a black box clutch, an accessory she's never without for this reason.

This is the first time the royal couple have appeared at the BAFTAs together. Prince William - who has been President of BAFTA since February 2010 - has attended the awards ceremony solo before, though for the past two years he has been absent.

Before the event there were rumours that the Duchess of Cambridge would not attend with her husband due to the 'distracting' press attention it might cause, but the pair were out in force on Sunday night, mingling with stars including Emma Stone and Michelle Williams on the red carpet and beaming for the cameras.

Prince William's support of BAFTA has helped elevate the annual ceremony to its current status as a major award season fixture, with Hollywood's big power players swapping balmy LA for the freezing February temperatures of London.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's first joint attendance of the event together is another coup for BAFTA. And given the couple plan to relocate from their base in Norfolk to London at the end of the summer, we might be seeing a little more of them at future BAFTA events in years to come.