KCET Cordially Invites You To "Royals Week" Hosted By Patt Morrison

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Los Angeles, CA -- April 13, 2011 -- KCET, independent public media for Southern and Central California, celebrates the long-awaited union of Prince William and Kate Middleton with Royals Week, a special weeklong program line-up spotlighting all that revolves around this monumental event. Hosted by award-winning journalist Patt Morrison, KCET's Royals Week features two BBC curtain raiser shows, William and Kate: The Royal Wedding and The House of Windsor, and culminates with the BBC's live broadcast event, Prince William and Kate's Royal Wedding.

KCET will air BBC's live broadcast of Prince William and Kate's Royal Wedding on Friday, April 29 at midnight. In case you're not a night owl and miss the original airtime, the wedding will rebroadcast several times throughout the weekend including Friday, April 29 at 10:24 a.m. and on Saturday, April 30 at 12 a.m., 12:26 p.m. and 7 p.m.

With William and Kate: The Royal Wedding, viewers will get an intimate look at the couple's eight-year courtship and fairytale romance while The House of Windsor explores the tumultuous history of Prince William's regal family.

Morrison, a regular SoCal Connected contributor, Los Angeles Times columnist and KPCC radio host, will provide lively commentary around the week-long wedding extravaganza. As "Lady Patt Morrison of Silver Lake Manor," she dons her famous hats and explains the intriguing, often scandalous British Monarchy -- a story that began nearly 10 centuries ago with King John's signing of the Magna Carta to today's modern royal family -- and a few beheadings and betrayals in-between.

Morrison will also have a special guest who will share her experiences of meeting the Queen Mum on several occasions.

William and Kate: The Royal Wedding

4/24/11 at 8 p.m. with encore broadcasts on 4/28/11 at 10 p.m. and 4/29/11 at 9 p.m. and 11 p.m.

In April of 1981, nearly a billion people around the world witnessed the wedding of Britain's Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer. Now, three decades later, their son Prince William will marry Kate Middleton in a lavish Westminster Abbey ceremony on April 29, 2011 -- and once again, the whole world will be watching. William and Kate: The Royal Wedding will illuminate this highly anticipated event in Britain's royal history. The program will trace the story of the royal couple's romance and profile the participants, history and key aspects of a Royal Wedding.

After eight years of public speculation and media coverage (as well as a brief parting of ways), the couple announced their engagement on November 16, 2010. With William's younger brother, Prince Harry, as best man, and Kate's sister, Pippa, as head bridesmaid and lady-in-waiting, the couple will be supported by the entire extended Windsor family at Westminster Abbey.

In 1947, Winston Churchill called the Queen's wedding to Prince Philip "a splash of color on the hard road we have to travel." More than 60 years later, the same can be said for William and Kate's wedding.

The House of Windsor

Beginning 4/25/11 at 8 p.m.

The House of Windsor, distributed by American Public Television, explores the tragedies and triumphs of this great family, chronicling the ups and downs of the kings, queens, princes and princesses who have guided England through the 20th century. This series is an updated version of the APT Syndication series originally called The Windsors: A Royal Dynasty.

With rare and exclusive footage of the family as recent as September 2009, The House of Windsor spins a rich tale of intriguing and scandalous personalities. The entire history of the Windsors is detailed, beginning with King George V's dramatic decision to change the ruling family's name in tribute to the famous royal home of Windsor Castle.

The family was touched with moments of immense scandal and unbelievable tragedy. Prince Edward famously abdicated the throne for the love of an American divorcee, Wallis Simpson. Prince Charles and Diana divorced and faced a media firestorm after reports of their various affairs, and the country was left heartbroken after Diana's 1997 death in a car accident.

Featuring a toe-tapping and century-spanning soundtrack, The House of Windsor is a fascinating look at the world's last true monarchy.

The House of Windsor Episode Descriptions

Episode 101 -- "The First Windsors, 1911 - 1936"

4/25/11 at 8 p.m.

King George V was a shy man who became monarch by accident. He lacked charisma, but with his generous heart and loyal wife, Queen Mary, he eventually won over his people. Prince Edward, his son and heir, was handsome, charming, and a natural communicator who loved modernity (he was everything his father wasn't). Prince Albert (Bertie), George and Mary's second son, was even more shy and modest than his father. He reluctantly became king when Edward neglected his royal duty for the love of a divorced American woman, Wallis Simpson. The abdication would nearly bring the House of Windsor to its knees.

Episode 102 -- "The King Who Saved the Crown, 1936 - 1952"

4/26/22 at 8 p.m. with an encore broadcast at 9 p.m.

Edward's abdication was the worst possible news for his younger brother, Bertie, Duke of York. Happily married with two young daughters, he longed for a quiet country life. Now, duty compelled him to be King. On May 12, 1937, he was crowned George VI (taking his father's name for continuity). The remarkable strength of his vivacious wife, Elizabeth (The future Queen Mum), helped him find a new confidence and poise. World War II and the blitz that threatened to destroy London revealed him as a modest but unwavering hero. Also in this episode, we meet the two young princesses. The 10-year-old Elizabeth, on her father's coronation, became the new heir to the throne. She married Prince Philip in 1947 and had two children, Charles and Anne. On June 2, 1953 she was crowned Queen Elizabeth II. The House of Windsor was in safe hands (and still is!)

Episode 103 -- "Long to Reign Over Us"

4/27/11 at 8 p.m. with an encore broadcast on 4/29/11 at 10 p.m.

The episode begins with Queen Elizabeth II's accession to the throne in 1952. Her glamorous sister, Margaret, finally decided to settle down and pinned her heart on the divorcee Peter Townsend. The public loved this fairytale story of a beautiful princess being in love with the dashing war hero. The Queen and the constitution did not. Margaret was given an ultimatum; Townsend or her titles and privileges -- she chose the latter. In 1981 The Queen's son and heir, Prince Charles, after a succession of missed chances, finally married the right girl (or so we thought at the time), a certain Lady Diana Spencer. As the '80s progressed the Windsor Dynasty reached crisis point. Princess Anne was the first to break her marriage vows when she divorced fellow equestrian, Mark Phillips. Other royals followed. Prince Charles' cover was blown when it was confirmed that he had a mistress for most of his marriage to Diana. The crowning humiliation came in the early '90s when Diana master-minded a frank biography of her miserable years as Charles' wife. Windsor Castle went up in flames. 1992 would be The Queen's "Annus Horribilis." The worst was still to come. Diana's death would leave two young princes, William and Harry, without a mother and a family and country in a state of shock. But, the new century would see the incredible recovery of public goodwill, from The Queen's Golden Jubilee to her 80th birthday, to the happy marriage of Charles and Camilla and to the emergence of the new generation Princes William and Harry.

Episode 104 -- "The 1947 Royal Wedding: The People's Wedding"

4.27.11 at 9:00pm with an encore broadcast on 4/28/11 at 8:00pm and 11:00pm and 4/29/11 at 11:00pm

On November 20th, 1947, Princess Elizabeth, the heir to the throne, married Prince Philip, the handsome sailor she'd loved since their first meeting eight years before (when he'd been a dashing cadet and she a shy 13-year-old). Their wedding in a bleak English autumn lit up the grey skies of a London still scarred by the blitz, rationing and fuel shortages, and transformed the national mood of weary disappointment. The wedding, when it finally came, was more than just a spectacular royal event. It brought back memories of pomp and splendor unseen in Britain since the coronation of Elizabeth's father, George VI, ten years earlier. The day a future queen married her prince became an emotional milestone for the nation, marking the end of "austerity Britain" and the beginning of a better world. The story follows the lives of Elizabeth and Philip, from their first public appearance as a couple in October 1946 (at the wedding of Lady Patricia Mountbatten), through to their own wedding in late November of 1947. This special episode features exclusive interviews and rare archival footage.

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