On Sunday, Helen Mirren led an exclusive tribute to Queen Elizabeth II all through the 76th annual BAFTA Awards that moved Prince William to tears.

“Cinema at its excellent does what Her Majesty did easily – deliver us collectively and unite us via a story. Your Majesty, you have been our nation’s main star,” the actress, who before received a BAFTA for her portrayal of the late royal, stated of the Queen, who died at the age of ninety-six on Sept. 8, 2022.

“BAFTA’s relationship with Her Majesty was once longstanding and BAFTA would now not be what it is nowadays except for her loyal support,” she went on to say. “In 1953 her coronation broadcast had the world watching, from that time, she was once genuinely the nation’s main lady. But used to be mysterious as a silent movie star.”

Chronicling the Queen’s years-long relationships with actors and actresses throughout the globe, Mirren mirrored how the late monarch used to be a section of it all — from Hollywood’s “Golden Age” to the age of the “Blockbuster.”

“Her Majesty used to be the front row for it all,” Mirren added.

The phrase was once introduced in front of William and Kate Middleton, who have been sitting in the target market at some point during the ceremony at London’s Royal Festival Hall. William had tears in his eyes in the course of Mirren’s tribute as he and Kate attended the show as the company of honor. As President of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, William was once there to watch the awards earlier than assembly the night’s winners and EE Rising Star nominees.

Prior to the ceremony, the British Academy said, “The Queen occupies a special area in BAFTA’s history, a shut affiliation that spanned 50 years. Through her number of patronages, The Queen used to be famed for her help of the UK’s innovative industries.”

The tribute comes two years after the annual British movie awards honored Prince Philip, who earlier served as President of BAFTA from 1959 to 1965 earlier to his later demise at the age of ninety-nine on April 9, 2021.

“It was once Prince Philip and Her Majesty the Queen’s guide at some point of these years that in many methods allowed BAFTA, a main charity in the arts, to proceed in hard times and to be right here in 2021 celebrating some other extremely good 12 months of success in film,” host Clara Amfo stated at some point of the ceremony.

“The Duke of Edinburgh occupies a very different area in BAFTA history. He will be missed. Our thoughts are with the royal family.”

The 2023 BAFTAs, meanwhile, has been hosted by Richard E. Grant whilst Alison Hammond interviewed the presenters and winners behind the scenes at the BAFTA Studio. It also marked William and Kate’s first in-person attendance at the annual British movie awards on the grounds that 2020, prior to the pandemic and Philip’s death, each of which prevented them from attending in the years preceding.