The Prince and Princess of Wales were missing at last night’s (February 16) BAFTAs as they are holidaying 4,000 miles away. As the president of BAFTA, Prince William has been a regular attendee at the annual film awards in London for several years, often accompanied by his wife Kate on the red carpet.
However, Kensington Palace announced last week that neither Royal would be present at the glamorous event at the Royal Festival Hall. The awards coincide with the start of their children’s half-term school break, during which both William and Kate typically take a break from Royal duties to spend time with Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
According to the Mail On Sunday, the family is using the school holiday to soak up the sun on the exclusive luxury Caribbean island of Mustique. The report suggests that the family travelled business class on a commercial British Airways flight to St Lucia before continuing on to Mustique, where it’s believed Kate’s mother, Carole, is also on holiday.
The island is popular among A-list celebrities and was a favourite destination of William’s great aunt, Princess Margaret. The Wales family has visited Mustique several times before, including in 2019 when George celebrated his sixth birthday on the island.
The island is privately owned and has no hotels, meaning visitors must own a villa or be invited to stay in one, reports the Mirror.
The royals will also be able to enjoy their privacy on the trip as Mustique enforces a no-fly zone, preventing paparazzi from getting any photographs from the air. This trip marks their second holiday in just two months, following reports of a New Year skiing break.
The vacation comes after Kate’s announcement that she is now cancer-free and slowly resuming her Royal duties. Despite his absence from the BAFTAs tonight, Prince William made a special visit to budding filmmakers last week.
The Prince of Wales got hands-on experience operating a camera for a film scene at the London Screen Academy (LSA) in Highbury, north London. The free-to-attend academy offers students training in various aspects of film production, aiming to address the skills gap and lack of diversity in the UK’s screen and creative industries.
Notable co-founders of the academy include David Heyman, producer of all eight Harry Potter films, and Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson, who oversee the James Bond franchise. Since 2010, William has held the position of president of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (Bafta), succeeding actor and director Richard Attenborough.