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Do you have princess fever? BBC America touts live, commercial-free royal wedding coverage

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Brilliant news, Anglophiles!

BBC America, already billing itself as the official home of the royal wedding, has announced that it will air the April 29 nuptials between Prince William and Kate Middleton live and commercial free.

This will mean that U.S. viewers will be able to catch ‘events in London live and without commercial breaks, just as if they were sitting in a British living room watching the BBC,’ Perry Simon, general manager of BBC Worldwide America, said in a statement.

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BBC One news anchor Huw Edwards will lead the on-air crew of presenters throughout the day. Nonstop coverage from the flagship network also will go out to Europe, Asia, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa for what’s expected to be one of the biggest TV events in history. (There are estimates that 2.5 billion people may watch the event).

U.S.-based news and entertainment networks already have announced plans to cover the wedding, though probably not as wall-to-wall as the British broadcaster. On BBC America there will be plenty of buildup, including a just-added documentary-style special called ‘Prince William’s Africa’ that looks at the royal’s conservation efforts through groups like the Tusk Trust. That joins a slew of shows such as ‘William & Kate: Modern Monarchy,’ ‘William & Harry: The Brother Princes’ and ‘All the Queen’s Horses.’

The network also will air a two-part special dubbed ‘Royally Mad,’ hosted by statuesque ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ emcee Cat Deeley. The show will feature two Los Angeles residents and self-proclaimed royal buffs in a whirlwind tour of London.

The locals -- flight attendant Rich Lorich and blogger Holly Passalaqua (whose two cats are named Prince William and Prince Harry, no kidding) -- are among five royal fanatics chosen to take part in the special, airing April 12 and 19.

And in related news, the Lifetime original movie ‘William & Kate’ is selling briskly around the world. It will air in the U.S. on April 18, followed by the first of a six-part docu-series, ‘Royal Wedding of a Lifetime’ that will spare no detail of the couple’s courtship or the Big Day.

-- T.L. Stanley

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