William & Kate Were Asked If ‘Monarchy's in Peril’ at the BAFTAs — and Their Response Was Expected
Senior royals are facing a wave of public backlash, with the BAFTAs marking the latest in a string of heckling incidents.
Following a three-year hiatus, Prince William and Princess Kate made a glamorous return to the 2026 BAFTA awards on February 22. But their high-profile return to the Royal Festival Hall turned out to be eventful. Amid the celebrations, the night was overshadowed by the ongoing Andrew-Epstein scandal that has currently placed the Royal Family in a rather messy situation. Since Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s ties with the disgraced financier resurfaced – thanks to the tranche of three million files released by the US Department of Justice – senior royals have been heckled on more than one occasion while fulfilling their duties. The same was the case at the BAFTAs, which happened just three days after the arrest of the former Duke of York.
As William and Kate walked the red carpet – which had been cleared just for them – an attendee shouted, “Is the Monarchy in peril?” The couple stayed calm and followed their ‘never complain, never explain’ mantra.
When news of Mountbatten-Windsor's arrest at Wood Farm broke on February 19, the Prince and Princess of Wales had been spending the school half-term break at Anmer Hall with their children. The residences are only six miles apart, meaning the royals were in the immediate vicinity when the police arrived at the location and took Mountbatten-Windsor into custody on the morning of his 66th birthday.
Despite the controversies surrounding the disgraced royal, William, who is also the President of the BAFTA, and Kate seemed focused on their work. For the event, the Prince wore a sharp burgundy velvet jacket, and the Princess opted for a long pink Gucci gown. Not just the couple, other senior royals have also not let the ongoing scandal affect their royal schedule. Just hours after the arrest, King Charles was snapped at London Fashion Week, while Queen Camilla held a concert for local musicians. Princess Anne also kept her plans to visit a men’s prison, perfectly showcasing the family’s business-as-usual approach.
This was the first time William and Kate attended the awards since 2023. Although they looked quite cheerful from the outside, the Prince of Wales admitted the week had been hard on him, a reference to the ongoing crisis engulfing the Royal Family. Commenting on the movie Hamnet on the red carpet, which the Prince hasn’t seen yet, he confessed, “I need to be in quite a calm state, and I am not at the moment. I will save it.”
While the public saw a united royal front, the underlying tension between William and his uncle had reached a breaking point behind closed doors. According to royal author Russell Myers, the Prince has long viewed Mountbatten-Windsor’s presence as a fundamental threat to his own reign and, as per his forthcoming book William & Catherine: The Intimate Inside Story, wanted his uncle out of the royal fold before ‘the rot further set in.’ As per reports, he had challenged the King directly on the matter, only to be ‘put in his place’ by his father.
