Helen Mirren Will Lead a Tribute to Queen Elizabeth at the BAFTA Awards

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Tonight at the BAFTA film awards ceremony, Helen Mirren will lead a tribute to Queen Elizabeth.

"The Queen occupies a unique place in BAFTA’s history, a close association that spanned 50 years," the British Academy said in a statement. "Through her various patronages, The Queen was renowned for her support of the U.K.’s creative industries."

Mirren famously played Queen Elizabeth in Peter Morgan’s 2006 film The Queen, for which she won an Oscar and a BAFTA. When Mirren accepted the Oscar, she complemented Queen Elizabeth, saying, "For fifty years and more, Elizabeth Windsor has maintained her dignity, her sense of duty, and her hairstyle."

Last year, Mirren shared she thought that Queen Elizabeth had watched The Queen. "I got the sense that it had been seen and that it had been appreciated. I’ve never heard directly, and I never will," the actress said. Queen Elizabeth and Mirren met numerous times over the years, and for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations, Mirren starred as Queen Elizabeth I in the "Gallop Through History" performance at the Royal Windsor Horse Show.

Earlier, Mirren revealed that she knows Prince William and Prince Harry have watched her play their grandmother. "The younger [ones], Harry and William, have mentioned it and they’ve been very funny about it, very cool about it," Mirren told Good Morning Britain. "I think Harry once said, when I was at a awards ceremony, he said, 'And Granny is here,' and I felt insulted by that."

Tonight, Prince William—along with his wife, Kate Middleton—will be in the audience at the BAFTAs to watch the tribute.

The BAFTAs will air on Britbox, beginning at 2 p.m. eastern time.

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