Airdate: Royal Wreck of Gold

The History Channel will screen a documentary on the sinking of ‘The Royal Charter’  which was laden with gold  when it set sail from Melbourne in 1859, and the efforts to now recover its treasures.

The dramatic story of the sinking of ‘The Royal Charter’ will be told in Royal Wreck of Gold, a 60-minute special to premiere on History on Monday, August 26 at 8.30pm AEST.

In the early hours of October 26, 1859, on the final leg of her 60-day voyage from Melbourne to Liverpool, steam clipper The Royal Charter was wrecked off Anglesey on the North Wales coast, in one of the worst storms to ever hit the United Kingdom.

A total of 497 passengers went down with her. No women or children survived.

But if the scale of human tragedy was immense, so too was the wealth – the ship, laden with riches from the Australian gold rush, was carrying $130 million dollars worth of gold on board.

Now, world champion gold hunter Vince Thurkettle is on a mission; to recover The Royal Charter’s lost treasure and discover who might have owned it.

To solve the mystery, Vince travels from the bottom of the ocean in North Wales and to Australia, rifling through the archives and following the footsteps of the past.

He meets the relatives of those who perished – many were gold prospectors returning home to Britain – and uncovers the true story of a tragedy that still resonates today.

Royal Wreck of Gold is a Foxtel commission, produced by Welsh production company TiFiNi and is exclusive to History.

Royal Wreck of Gold airs Monday, August 26 at 8.30pm AEST