Well, that was unexpected…

This evening saw the 2022 TV BAFTAs, celebrating the past year in television.

The 75th anniversary ceremony, hosted by Richard Ayoade, was held at Royal Festival Hall, seeing A-listers gather from far and wide.

Prince William, President of BAFTA, was unable to attend the star-studded ceremony, but that certainly didn’t stop him from taking home a gong.

Yes, it looks like Prince William might have actually won a BAFTA.

The BAFTA in question went to The Earthshot Prize 2021 for Best Live Event, and while he wasn’t actually the recipient, Prince William did launch the Prize and was credited in the acceptance speech.

As Dermot O’Leary accepted the BAFTA on stage for his work on the “life-affirming programme”, he gave a nod to the Duke of Cambridge, sending him a special thank you.

“A word as well, just a special thanks to Prince William,” Dermot O’Leary announced in a special tribute. “Because it is very easy to be cynical about someone who comes from such privilege but he approached the whole thing with this incredible empathy and enthusiasm, vitality and this really is his baby which is why Earthshot is now fourth in line to the throne!”

Prince William also featured in the TV BAFTA award ceremony, with a pre-filmed message from the Duke expressing his hope that creators would keep “environmental issues high up on the agenda”.

“Now more than ever, programme makers have a unique opportunity to ensure climate change and sustainability remain at the forefront of our collective consciousness,” Prince William announced in his message. “By creating innovative, educational and emotive content for television, writers and producers are playing a unique role in ensuring the future of our planet is something that we all want to talk about.”

He continued: “Over the past year, we’ve seen some fantastic examples of this across a wide variety of programmes and genres. I hope you will all continue to carry on your invaluable work, keeping environmental issues high up on the agenda of programming in the years ahead.”

Huge congratulations to the Duke of Cambridge on his success with the Earthshot Prize.

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