SCREEN QUEEN 'ELIZABETH II WAS OUR NATION'S LEADING LADY'

THE PRINCE AND PRINCESS OF WALES WERE SITTING FRONT ROW AS THE BAFTAS PAID A TOUCHING TRIBUTE TO THE LATE MONARCH

- GEORGIA TREVITT

The stars were sparkling on the red carpet at this year’s EE Bafta Film Awards, but the night’s biggest honour went to the late Queen Elizabeth II, who was remembered by acting royalty Dame Helen Mirren as the “nation’s leading lady”.

In an emotional tribute, 77-year-old Helen spoke of the royal’s close association with the Academy, which spanned 50 years. “Bafta’s relationship with Her Majesty was long-standing and Bafta would not be what it is today without her loyal support,” she said.

“In 1953, her coronation broadcast had the world watching. From that time, she was unquestionably the nation’s leading lady but as mysterious as a silent film star.

“Who else could meet the world’s most famous singers, actors and performers and turn them into her supporting cast?

“Throughout her 70-year reign, she met cinema’s greatest icons and witnessed the evolution of Hollywood from its golden age to the birth of the blockbuster. Her Majesty was front row for it all.”

Helen, who played Elizabeth II in 2006 biographical drama The Queen, also referenced the 50-plus cultural organisations the royal supported during her lifetime, as well as the honorary Bafta she received in 2013 in recognition for her “outstanding patronage of the film and television industries”.