The Duchess’s dilemma: will she wear black to the Baftas?
PICKING an outfit for an awards night is difficult enough for any woman. But the Duchess of Cambridge will this year face a trickier dilemma than ever: to make a political statement in black or risk being the only woman in the room at the Baftas wearing colour?
The Duchess, who will attend this year’s Bafta ceremony with the Duke, will be left in a diplomatic minefield, as actresses prepare to wear black dresses in support of the Time’s Up movement.
A letter circulated to female nominees urges them to follow the example of the Golden Globes, wearing all-black as a “strong, unifying and simple statement – a physical and visual representation of our solidarity with people across all industries who have experienced sexual harassment and abuse or have been held back due to an imbalance in power”.
The Duchess, who wore a patterned black evening gown last year, is not in
‘Wearing black is a physical and visual representation of our solidarity with people across all industries’
the habit of public protest, in keeping with the Royal family’s policy of avoiding anything that could be construed as a political statement.
Kensington Palace last night declined to comment on the Duchess’s decision in the run-up to the ceremony on Feb 18.
The announcement about the Duke and Duchess’s attendance at the awards came as the Duke spoke to teenagers about mental health, cyberbullying, and the impact of celebrity photographs on young people’s body image.
In discussion with Samara Hackettvalton and Sophie Crowder, both 15 and pupils at Burlington Danes Academy, he admitted he has real concerns over body image and how women are portrayed online.
“I worry for you girls,” he said. “Touched-up pictures are not real. Don’t try to recreate them or think that’s what you’ve got to aim for. There’s a lot of fakeness online, so don’t worry about that.”
Meghan Markle, the Duke’s future sister-in-law, has previously spoken of her own frustrations about the digital altering of photographs, specifically the airbrushing of her freckles.