William says he needs to be in ‘calm state’ for Hamnet: ‘I’m not at the moment’

The Prince of Wales has said he needs to be in a “calm state” to watch Hamnet as he attended the Bafta awards, adding: “I’m not at the moment”.

William, who is president of the arts charity, walked down the red carpet with his wife, the Princess of Wales, at the Royal Festival Hall by the South Bank in London on Sunday in his first public appearance since Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest.

The royal couple chatted to representatives from Bafta and the Southbank Centre before taking their seats in the star-studded auditorium for the awards ceremony.

William told Elaine Bedell, chief executive of the Southbank Centre, and Allison Kirkby, chief executive of BT Group, that he had yet to see Hamnet.

“I need to be in quite a calm state and I’m not at the moment,” he said.

“I will save it.”

The big-screen adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s award-winning novel is about the family life of William Shakespeare and the death of his young son.

Hamnet won the Bafta for outstanding British film and its Irish star Jessie Buckley won best actress for her performance as Shakespeare’s wife Agnes Hathaway – historically known as Anne.

Kate said she saw the highly nominated film on Saturday.

Chatting with the chairwoman of Bafta’s film committee, Emily Stillman, and executive director of the charity’s awards and content, Emma Baehr, the princess said: “Yes, I think it was a very bad idea actually… ended up with very puffy eyes.”

She said it was “really very very powerful”, praising the “fantastic” and “raw” music score and talking about its portrayal of “intergenerational grief”.

Ms Stillman had told Kate that the last time they met was when she was pregnant with Prince George in 2013 and recalled the princess doing Harry Potter spells.

“I do remember that,” Kate said, adding that her children would love to have a closer look into the Bafta film world.

“They love the idea of being behind the scenes and finding out how it all happens,” she said.

Kate told Ms Bedell and Ms Kirkby that “the children are getting into film a bit more”.

“It’s a really great way to have some of the hard conversations with them,” she added.

“We have still got a long list of films we haven’t seen,” she went on.

“Hopefully this will help.”

Kate wore a pink and white gown with a burgundy velvet belt, which matched William’s suit jacket.

As the awards ceremony got underway, chairwoman of Bafta, Sara Putt, thanked William for his year-round support.

Scottish actor host Alan Cumming changed outfits part-way through the event, prompting a laugh from the prince as he joked: “I’ve had a costume change, thank you for noticing Prince William.”

Towards the end of the show, William presented the Bafta fellowship award to NBCUniversal’s chair of entertainment, Dame Donna Langley, for her outstanding contribution to film and television.

He said: “Her transformative leadership and unwavering commitment to creative partnership have brought some of this century’s most iconic films to the big screen and to audiences around the world.

“She has championed films that have shaped culture, and is responsible for some of our most beloved franchises.”

Dame Donna, who grew up on the Isle of Wight, is the first British woman to run a major Hollywood studio and has been credited with championing films including Straight Outta Compton, Bridesmaids, Get Out, The Holdovers, and Bafta best film winner Oppenheimer.

She was sat next to Kate during the ceremony, and got a standing ovation as she went on to stage to receive her award.

Andrew was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of misconduct in public office, spending 11 hours in custody on his 66th birthday, after allegations he shared sensitive information with Jeffrey Epstein during his time as the UK’s trade envoy.

Kate made her first public appearance since the arrest on Saturday as she donned an England rugby scarf to watch the team lose to Ireland 42-21 in the Six Nations at Twickenham.