This Awkward Photo of Prince William & the Rising Star Contenders at the BAFTAs Only Tells Half the Story

While one picture may be worth a thousand words, one specific picture of Prince William meeting all the Rising Star Award nominees at the 2024 EE BAFTA Awards may be going viral without telling the full story. After all, the conversation that took place between the royal and the actors has also sparked some debate.

In the picture, the heir to the throne, who is also the president of the BAFTA, is seen laughing with Bridgerton‘s Phoebe Dynevor, The Bear star Ayo Ederibi, Everything Now star Sophie Wilde and Mia McKenna Bruce, the breakout star for the movie How to Have Sex. The actresses, however, have less-than-enthused expressions on their faces.

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While Dynevor is seen looking confused with her head tilted to the side, Ederibi seems shocked with her eyebrows raised while Wilde looks to be on the verge of tears. “I am simply begging you all to look at this photo of Ayo Edebiri meeting Prince William at the #BAFTAs,” wrote one user on X. “Their reactions are sending me 😭😭,” another wrote.

Looking at the interaction between all four on video, however, which was obtained by Daily Mail, it seems like their conversation was less awkward than it seems. “The category was so strong, all of you,” the Princess of Wales told the nominees. “It was like who is going to pull this off?”

“It was incredible,” he continued. “It was very close between all of you.”

Another moment from their meeting, however, has made fans cringe all over again. When talking to Bruce, who ended up taking the Rising Star Award home, William admitted he didn’t have a chance yet to watch her movie.

“I haven’t yet watched your film,” he said. “I think it looked like you had a lot of fun all the way through.” That comment, for fans of the movie, seemed quite out of touch.

For starters, while How to Have Sex takes place during a Europe trip of a group of teenagers in Greece, the film also discusses serious topics including consent, sexuality and sexual assault. With that said, the royal calling her experience “a lot of fun” was insensitive at best.

For some other X users, William not seeing the nominated movies as the president of BAFTA was also put into question. “I’ve got a lot of films to catch up on,” he told the nominees. “Normally I get quite ahead of the awards ceremony, I get to see quite a few of them. I haven’t managed to get that many through.” Knowing his role in the organization, and how important the event is, shouldn’t prioritizing watching the movies and shows be up there in his royal to-dos?

Before you go, click here to see more photos of Prince William & Kate Middleton through the years.

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