Royal Wedding: ABC1

ABC1’s week for the Royal Wedding consists of two documentaries, William and Kate: A Royal Love Story and A Royal Romance Over, a special Thursday night edition of Q & A and the coverage of the wedding itself led by BBC presenter Huw Edwards.

Tuesday April 26
8:30pm William And Kate: A Royal Love Story
With the imminent wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, this documentary is an account of the love story between William and the girl who is to become his Queen. Unveiling William and Kate’s intriguing royal courtship and discovering the real Kate Middleton with captivating insight, this exclusive program reveals where it all began.

Tracing the highs and lows of William and Kate’s rollercoaster relationship, the program asks how the famous couple deal with press attention and uncovers their secret love trysts. In a fairytale viewer experience, we witness what their wedding arrangements are likely to be, as well as the possible wedding dress and jewellery that could make Kate the next royal style icon since Diana.

William and Kate: A Royal Love Story features exclusive photographic material and captivating archive and contemporary footage, including the only known footage of Kate speaking on camera. The program also features contributions from defining authors on the subject such as Katie Nicholl, royal correspondent for the Daily Mail, Claudia Joseph, author of Kate Middleton: Princess in Waiting, and Ingrid Seward, the international royal commentator

Thursday April 28
8:30pm Q&A: Is The Royal Romance Over?
A Royal Romance is a 55 minute documentary, introduced by Tony Jones and followed by a national debate. It’s all part of a 90 minute package on April 28 titled: Q&A: Is The Royal Romance Over?

A Royal Romance explores our unique relationship to Queen Elizabeth via interviews with three former Australian Prime Ministers; ordinary Australians who cheered her on the streets of their cities and towns; and those close to the Queen in her royal household. There are some exceptional Australian icons; Germaine Greer shows how well she can curtsy, Rolf Harris plays ‘Waltzing Matilda’ as he did on the streets of London during Elizabeth’s coronation, and former republican Prime Minister Paul Keating reveals his fond admiration for a monarch he wanted to sack.

Through the prism of Elizabeth’s 15 royal tours, Australia’s changing attitudes to the monarchy are unfurled. Long ago we abandoned singing ‘God Save the Queen’ and began to question the relevance of the monarchy to our daily lives, but many Australians perhaps even a majority find it hard to let go of a Head of State who wears a crown half a world away.

A Royal Romance delves into the emotional flash points the Whitlam dismissal by the Governor General in 1975, where the fires for constitutional change were lit, the failed 1999 republican referendum, the impact of royal marriage scandals and then asks what will happen after Elizabeth? Will her heir, Prince Charles, see the end of the monarchy in Australia?

Friday April 29
Royal Wedding
4:00pm WA
5:30pm SA / NT
7:30pm NSW VIC QLD ACT TAS

Live coverage of the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, at Westminster Abbey in London. The early stages of the broadcast will reflect the excitement and anticipation building up around Central London as well as other key locations around Britain, such as St Andrews, where they both went to University and Kate’s home village of Bucklebury.

Various BBC presenters, led by Huw Edwards, will be stationed around Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace and the Mall. They will watch the preparations as they unfold as well as speaking to the crowd who have travelled from all over to witness this little piece of history.

There will also be guest experts in the studios, Royal historians, Royal correspondents and fashion experts. Coverage will include the journey and arrival of all the members of the Royal Family and the bride as they make their way to the Abbey, as well as all key guests and full coverage of the wedding service itself.

Following the service, we will see the full procession back to Buckingham Palace and after that the historic balcony appearance of the newly married Prince William and Catherine Middleton and close members of the Royal Family.

Coverage will break for the news at 7pm (8:40pm in WA), and will resume after.