Prince William, Middleton to attend BAFTA event in L.A.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are coming to a red carpet near you this summer. Well, more near than London, at least.

As part of their first trip to the USA, the royal couple will attend BAFTA's inaugural Brits to Watch gala at the Belasco Theater in Los Angeles on July 9. A BAFTA press release says the event is intended to "highlight the incredible depth and range of great British talent currently emerging in film, television and video games."

MORE:�Check out the rest of the royals' itinerary

The lucky 42 British talents chosen to attend the event will hobnob with important entertainment types, as well as have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet Their Royal Highnesses.

American Idol executive producer, So You Think You Can Dance co-creator and BAFTA's chairman in L.A. Nigel Lythgoe says the event is key to furthering the relationship between Americans and the British in entertainment.

"Promoting the individual and collective achievements of our most promising emerging British talent is such an important part of our remit, whilst encouraging goodwill for the UK and opening further opportunities for UK-US collaboration," he says in the statement. "Being given the opportunity of meeting Hollywood's elite will provide a highly significant and beneficial moment for them, especially at such a formative stage of their careers."

See photos of: Prince William, Kate Middleton

To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

Source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/usatoday-LifeTopStories/~3/L_FeEPXCCRU/1

Abbie Cornish Raquel Alessi Rachel Hunter Alicia Keys Julia Stiles