Prince William, Ayo Edebiri, and Phoebe Dynevor's Viral Awkward Photo Finally Has a Backstory

The royal has not had a chance to keep up with many recent films, to put it lightly.

Though Prince William is an acting royal within the British monarchy, even he stumbles into a faux pas every now and then. Following Sunday night’s 2024 BAFTAs, William went viral for several photos he took with actresses Ayo Edebiri, Phoebe Dynevor, Sophie Wilde, and Mia McKenna-Bruce due to the shocked looks on their faces while speaking with him.

The four women were honored as the night’s EE Rising Star nominees, with McKenna-Bruce taking home the award for her work in How to Have Sex, in which she plays a victim of sexual assault.

Upon meeting McKenna-Bruce, The Prince of Wales — who attended the event solo as Princess Kate is recovering from abdominal surgery — reportedly told her, "I haven't yet watched your film—I think it looked like you had a lot of fun all the way through," according to The Daily Mail.

Things only continued to get more awkward during the prince’s encounter with the women, allegedly telling the actresses that he hadn’t had the chance to watch any of their films yet.  "The category was so strong, all of you," William reportedly told Edebiri, Dynevor, and Wilde after shaking their hands. "It was like, 'Who is going to pull this off?' It was incredible. It was very close between all of you."

When McKenna-Bruce suggested Prince William watch How to Have Sex, he explained, "I've got a lot of films to catch up on … Normally, I get quiet ahead of the awards ceremony. I get to see quite a few of them. I haven't managed to get that many through."

At the very least, McKenna-Bruce, Edebiri, Dynevor, and Wilde know that Prince William's failure to watch their films isn’t entirely a personal choice. There’s another major box office smash that hasn’t graced his personal big screen, either — “I haven’t watched Barbie yet," Prince William admitted while praising Oppenheimer. "I want to.”

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