The Royal Film Performance is a trademarked event owned by The Film and Television Charity, [1] formerly known as the Cinema & Television Benevolent Fund CTBF (from 1964 to 2017) and previously the Cinematograph Trade Benevolent Fund (from its inception in 1924). [2] The event showcases a major film premiere and is attended by members of the British Royal Family. The proceeds from the event help the charity to offer financial support to people from the film, TV and cinema industries.
The event began in 1946, as the Royal Command Film Performance, with a screening of A Matter of Life and Death . The charity first received Royal Patronage in 1936, and so the idea of a Royal screening was born. The original date of the first event was 18 October 1939 and it was to be called the Royal Cine-Variety Performance, but it was postponed due to the outbreak of World War II.
The "Royal Command" name was changed from 1949, to Royal Film Performance, on the basis that the choice of film was that of the CTBF rather than the Royal Family. [3] There was no performance between 2015 and 2019 while the CTBF was reformed as The Film and Television Charity. [4] There was no event in 2020 or 2021 due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
The most recent Royal Film Performance was the UK premiere of Top Gun: Maverick at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on 19 May 2022. The event was attended by The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. [5] There was no event in 2023 due to the SAG-AFTRA strike. The next event is the global premiere of Ridley Scott's Gladiator II , which will be taking place on 13th November 2024, during the centenary year of The Film and Television Charity.
Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh is a member of the British royal family. He is the youngest child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the youngest sibling of King Charles III. He was born 3rd in the line of succession to the British throne and is now 14th.
Sarah, Duchess of York, also known by the nickname Fergie, is a British author, philanthropist, television personality, and member of the extended British royal family. She is the former wife of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, who is the second son of Queen Elizabeth II and a younger brother of King Charles III.
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual award ceremonies, BAFTA has an international programme of learning events and initiatives offering access to talent through workshops, masterclasses, scholarships, lectures, and mentoring schemes in the United Kingdom and the United States.
The Dominion Theatre is a West End theatre and former cinema on Tottenham Court Road, close to St Giles Circus and Centre Point, in the London Borough of Camden. Planned as primarily a musical theatre, it opened in 1929, but the following year became a cinema—it hosted the London premiere of Charlie Chaplin's City Lights with Chaplin in attendance—and in 1933 after liquidation of the controlling company was sold to Gaumont cinema chain, which later became part of the Rank Organisation. It was a major premiere cinema until the 1970s, when it began to host live concerts.
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272.
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Kensington Palace is a royal residence set in Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It has been a residence of the British royal family since the 17th century, and is currently the official London residence of the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke and Duchess of Kent, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent and Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank and their two sons. Kensington Palace is sometimes used as a metonym for the offices of royals who officially reside there.
The Royal Variety Performance is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity. It is attended by senior members of the British royal family. The evening's performance is presented as a live variety show, usually from a theatre in London and consists of family entertainment that includes comedy, music, dance, magic and other speciality acts.
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A Royal Command Performance is any performance by actors or musicians that occurs at the direction or request of a reigning monarch of the United Kingdom.
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The Film and TV Charity, formerly the CTBF, is the leading UK charity for people who work in the film, cinema and television industries, whose careers cover all aspects of pre-production and beyond, from script to screen and in a variety of roles.
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