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Royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle: When it starts, how to watch and more

The commoner's guide to watching the royal wedding.

Samir Hussein

Say what you will about the royal family, but Her Majesty the Queen and her brood sure do know how to do weddings. Her grandson Prince Harry will wed the American actress Meghan Markle on Saturday, May 19, amid much pomp and considerable circumstance. If you're still waiting for your invitation or have sent your regrets, here's what you need to know about how to watch the royal wedding from across the pond in the US. (For more on Prince Harry and his American bride, here's what you need to know.)

Save the date

The royal wedding will take place on Saturday, May 19 at St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. The ceremony is expect to start at 12 noon UK time -- that's 7 a.m. ET or 4 a.m. PT here in the US. Following the hour-long service, the Prince and newly minted Duchess (not Princess, sorry) will start the celebration by traveling around the town of Windsor in a horse-drawn carriage to the delight of forelock-tugging commoners everyone watching. 

Cameras will be allowed inside the chapel as well as along the carriage procession route in Windsor, so you'll be able to see a great deal of the big day.

How to watch the royal wedding on TV

Many outlets will broadcast the royal wedding. If you've got a cable or satellite subscription or have cut the cord and use one of the big five live-TV streaming services, then here are some of the options to watch live.

ABC

ABC News and Good Morning America will have live coverage beginning at 5 a.m. ET (2 a.m. PT). GMA co-anchor Robin Roberts and World News Tonight anchor David Muir will lead the coverage.

CBS

CBS News will start its live broadcast at 4 a.m. ET (1 a.m. PT), led by CBS This Morning co-host Gayle King and Entertainment Tonight co-host Kevin Frazier, with help from CBS News royal contributor Tina Brown. (For the record: CNET is a division of CBS.)

NBC

NBC News is bringing the entire Today show crew to England for live coverage, starting at 4:30 a.m ET (1:30 a.m PT). Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb will anchor NBC's coverage, with help from Megyn Kelly, Kathie Lee Gifford and Al Roker.

Fox

Fox News will start its coverage at 5 a.m. ET (2 a.m. PT) with Ainsley Earhardt co-hosting Fox and Friends Weekend from Windsor, England. Its main coverage of the royal wedding will begin at 6 a.m. ET (3 a.m. PT), co-anchored by Shepard Smith and Sandra Smith.

BBC America

BBC America will carry a live simulcast of BBC One's coverage, starting at 4:15 a.m ET (1:15 a.m PT). Kirsty Young, Huw Edwards, Dermot O'Leary, Tina Daheley, Alex Jones, Ore Oduba and Anita Rani will lead the coverage.

HBO

Cord Hosenbeck and Tish Cattigan will lead HBO's live coverage of the royal wedding, starting at 7:30 a.m ET (4:30 a.m. PT). You may know parade experts Cord and Tish by their real names, Will Ferrell and Molly Shannon. HBO will replay Cord and Tish's royal wedding shenanigans at 9:45 p.m. ET/PT.

How to watch the royal wedding online

You can stream the royal wedding live online from the websites or mobile apps of the networks broadcasting the event. You can watch live for free without authentication from YouTube, ABC, CBS and NBC, but will need to prove you are a pay TV subscriber to watch on BBC America. And, of course, you'll need to be an HBO subscriber to get Cord and Tish's thoughts and reactions.

BritBox

BritBox, a streaming service from BBC Studios and ITV for fans of British television, will have a live stream of ITV's coverage of the royal wedding, hosted by Phillip Schofield and Julie Etchingham (and you can't get more British than those two). Its live coverage of the royal wedding will begin at 5:30 a.m. ET (2:30 a.m. PT), but will also have time-shifted streams for US viewers. That is, Americans who don't want to get up before the sun can opt for a delayed start so they don't miss a moment of Harry and Meghan's big day. BritBox costs $6.99 a month, but there's a seven-day free trial to get you through Saturday's nuptials.

Royal wedding replay

If sleeping in on Saturday is more important than watching two strangers wed, royal or otherwise, then your two best options for watching a royal wedding replay are: YouTube, or signing up for BritBox's free trial and starting the stream at your convenience. Or, if you can wait until Saturday evening, you can catch the replay of Cord and Tish's coverage on HBO.

For lots more, read our sister site Entertainment Tonight's complete guide to the royal wedding.

This piece was originally published May 8 and is updated as new streaming information becomes available.