Bafta praises ‘forward thinking’ president who inspired change

BAFTA has paid tribute to its “forward thinking” first president, the Duke of Edinburgh, who pioneered the organisation’s move to bring the television and film industries together.

Prince Philip became Bafta’s first president in 1959, one year after the British Film Academy and the Guild of Television Producers and Directors merged to create the Society of Film and Television Arts (SFTA), a forerunner of Bafta.

Amanda Berry yesterday praised the Duke for his role in creating the body as it is today. She said: “Prince Philip was an extraordinary part of Bafta’s history. He is the reason we are actually Bafta because he brought together the television guild and the society of film, which created this organisation recognising both film and television at a time when they were quite separate industries.

“So he was really forward thinking and in the mid-1970s, when we officially became Bafta and we changed our name, the Royal family donated some money from a documentary that was made about them to help us open our HQ in Piccadilly.” The Duke was present at the official opening of the London headquarters after he and the Queen gave their share of the profits from the 1969 documentary Royal Family to the SFTA.

The Duke of Cambridge was to deliver a speech via video celebrating the resilience of the film industry over the past year, but pulled out following the death of his grandfather.

Richard E Grant, one of the guest presenters, paid tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh as “eagle-eyed, very interested and very direct”. Asked whether he thought the Duke would have been pleased the Baftas were going ahead despite the challenges of the pandemic, the actor said: “Never give up, that seemed to be his motto, so same for us.”

‘Prince Philip brought together the television guild and the society of film, which is why we are Bafta’