(Photo: Getty Images)

Dame Helen Mirren will lead a special tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at the BAFTA Film Awards this Sunday (February 17).

Mirren has several notable connections to the late monarch, who passed away on September 8, 2022 after more than 70 years as the U.K.'s Head of State. In the Queen's 2003 Birthday Honours, Mirren was appointed a Dame (DBE) for services to drama.

The actress later won an Oscar for portraying Elizabeth II in the 2006 film The Queen and a Tony for portraying her in 2015's The Audience. Shortly after the monarch's passing in September, Mirren wrote on Instagram: "I am proud to be an Elizabethan. We mourn a woman, who, with or without the crown, was the epitome of nobility."

The BAFTA Film Awards will take place this Sunday at London's Royal Festival Hall, hosted by Richard E. Grant. He will be joined on the night by popular British TV presenter Alison Hammond, who will be hosting a new room at the event called the BAFTA Studio.

Nominees for the prestigious Rising Star award include Emma Mackey, who you can find out more about in our recent feature.

Are you looking forward to this year's BAFTA Film Awards?