Royal Wedding: Harry & Meghan's Big Day

The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was televised in the US on several networks, including NBC, CBS, PBS, FOX, BBC America, HBO, and ABC. The ceremony started at 7:00 a.m. EST, but coverage of guests arriving began as early as 4 a.m. on May 19, 2018.

CBS coverage

CBS's coverage of the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle began at 4:00 a.m. ET on May 19, 2018, with CBS This Morning's Gayle King and Entertainment Tonight's Kevin Frazier anchoring the network's coverage. It was broadcast on CBS and its cable news channel, CBSN.

King also anchored a prime-time special on Friday, April 20, at 10:00 p.m. called Meghan Markle: American Princess. The special covered the couple's relationship and presented a brief biography of Markle, featuring interviews with friends and former colleagues.

Entertainment Tonight broadcast from London and Windsor during the week leading up to the wedding, with special coverage, and also aired a recap of the wedding on Monday, May 21.

CBS News also aired a two-hour special rebroadcast at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday night.

CBS's coverage of the wedding included commentary from Tina Brown, and at 8:00 p.m. ET, the network aired a two-hour special, Royal Romance: The Marriage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. CBSN, the network's live streaming site, also broadcast the wedding online.

NBC coverage

NBC's coverage of the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle started with special live editions of the Today Show, hosted by Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb. The pair presented from an exclusive location overlooking Windsor Castle, starting on Friday, May 18, and co-hosts Megyn Kelly, Kathie Lee Gifford, Al Roker, and Sheinelle Jones—as well as other NBC News correspondents—also reported from the town of Windsor and nearly London. Coverage of the wedding itself began at 4:30 a.m. EST.

On May 16, Guthrie and Kotb also hosted an NBC prime-time special, called Inside the Royal Wedding: Harry and Meghan, which was described as offering an "unprecedented glimpse into the fairy-tale romance," with interviews of the couple's friends.

NBC's coverage was loose and jovial in tone, with the running joke that every time James Blunt appeared on screen, someone would burst into 'You're Beautiful'. This was coupled with an ecstatic cry of "Royalty has arrived!" when George and Amal Clooney turned up, and a passing shrug for when the actual Queen finally graced St. George's Chapel with her presence.

FOX coverage

FOX News covered the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, which took place on Saturday, May 19, 2018, at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, UK.

The FOX News Channel (FNC) provided live coverage of the Royal Wedding, co-anchored by Shepard Smith and Sandra Smith from outside St. George's Chapel from 6 am ET.

Ainsley Earhardt also co-hosted Fox and Friends from Windsor on May 17 and 18, with a short segment at 5 am ET on May 19. Sandra Smith co-anchored America's Newsroom from London two days before the wedding.

FOX News coverage of the Royal Wedding included:

• Live coverage of the wedding ceremony, co-anchored by Shepard Smith and Sandra Smith from outside St. George's Chapel, starting at 6 am ET.
• A short segment on Fox and Friends, hosted by Ainsley Earhardt, at 5 am ET on the day of the wedding (May 19).
• Coverage on America's Newsroom, co-anchored by Sandra Smith from London, two days before the wedding (May 17).
• International FOX correspondents joined the channel starting on Thursday, May 17.

PBS coverage

PBS aired its own weeklong series of specials titled 'Royal Wedding Watch', hosted by Meredith Vieira and British television presenter Matt Baker. Each episode took a different angle, exploring the life of Markle, the couple's backstory, a tour of Kensington Palace (their future home), and the history, traditions, and royal protocol that dictated the celebration. The series aired from May 14 to May 17 at 10:00 p.m. EST and on May 18 at 10:30 p.m. EST, culminating in a live broadcast of the wedding from within St. George's Chapel on Saturday morning.

The PBS coverage of the wedding was part of a broader trend of extensive television coverage of the royal wedding in the United States. Networks such as CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX News, BBC America, and HBO aired the wedding and provided additional commentary and analysis. The wedding was also streamed on several online services, including CBSN Live and ABC News.

BBC America coverage

BBC America provided a live simulcast of BBC One's coverage of the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, albeit with limited commercial breaks. The ceremony, which took place on Saturday 19 May 2018, was also aired on ABC, FOX, NBC, CBS, PBS, E!, HBO & CNN in the USA.

BBC America's coverage started at 4:15 EST (1:15 PT), with the ceremony itself beginning at 7:00 EST (04:00 PT). BBC America viewers were able to tune in to BBC One's coverage, which was anchored by Huw Edwards, Kirsty Young, and Dermot O'Leary. Young and O'Leary covered the build-up from Saturday morning from around Windsor Castle's moat, while Edwards presented from the roof of the Windsor Guard Room. The One Show's Alex Jones and Ore Oduba also acted as roaming reporters, capturing the excitement from the gathered crowds.

BBC One's coverage was simulcast in other countries, including the Republic of Ireland, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and Fiji.

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