Helen Mirren will lead the Queen’s commendation at the 76th annual film awards ceremony at London’s Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall on Sunday. The Queen had a close association with the Academy that spanned 50 years and saw her donate and support initiatives, as well as attend many events over the years. In 1972, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh donated the profits from the documentary film Royal Family to the Society of Film and Television Arts (SFTA), which later became the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (Bafta), for a new headquarters. The renaming of the organisation occurred during the official opening of the headquarters in 1976, which was conducted by the Queen, and remains the London home of Bafta five decades on. During her lifetime, the Queen was a patron of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, the Royal Variety Charity and the Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund. William and Kate will be attending the ceremony for the first time in three years before meeting the winners and Rising Star Award nominees. Bafta’s chief executive Jane Millichip said: “It is an absolute pleasure to welcome so many nominees and film industry guests to the EE Bafta Film Awards on Sunday. “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. The EE Bafta Film Awards will be broadcast on 19 February at 7pm on BBC One and iPlayer.

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