Prince William applauds Brad Pitt's Harry gag during his BAFTAs 2020 acceptance speech

Brad Pitt made cheeky references to Brexit and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, in his acceptance speech at the 2020 BAFTAs.

The 56-year-old actor wasn’t present to accept the Best Supporting Actor prize for Once Upon A Time In Hollywood in person, but co-star Margot Robbie took to the stage to read out a speech on his behalf.

Pitt had originally been due to attend the BAFTAs ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall, but had to pull out due to “family obligations”.

Read more: Full list of winners from the 2020 BAFTAs

He made a couple of wry jokes about the current state of Britain that Robbie read to the assembled audience.

The actress, who played Sharon Tate in the Quentin Tarantino movie, said: "Hey Britain, heard you just became single, welcome to the club. Wishing you the best with the divorce settlement.”

She added: "[Pitt] says he is going to name this [award] Harry because he is really excited about bringing it back to the States with him. His words not mine."

The cameras then cut to Harry’s brother Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge, who both applauded the gag.

Pitt has been sweeping the Best Supporting Actor categories at awards ceremonies this year for his role as stuntman Cliff Booth in Tarantino’s tale of 1960s Los Angeles.

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The star notably won big at the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild Awards for the movie.

He is now hotly tipped to continue his run of victories at the Oscars on 9 February, securing his first ever Academy Award for acting.

Pitt has previously won an Oscar for Best Picture due to his role as a producer on 12 Years A Slave.