Pomp and Matrimony

The glamour and spectacle of Royal Weddings past

As the marriage of Prince William to Kate Middleton approaches, the BBC World Service looks back through the archive of Royal Weddings. From the news coverage of the 1923 wedding of the future King George VI to Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, to the young Princess Elizabeth’s marriage to the dashing Phillip of Greece and the moment Lady Diana Spencer stepped out of the Glass Coach in THAT dress.

We look back at the glamour, the gossip, the spectacle and the romance of British Royal Weddings from recent history.

Pomp and Matrimony – On air and online from Tuesday 12 April

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The Gagarin Legacy

Fifty years of human spaceflight

In an hour-long special, Richard Hollingham relives the momentous events of 12th April 1961 when Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit the Earth in outer space. He builds up a picture of the life of the first cosmonaut, the risky technology that propelled him into space, and the impact that it had around the world.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian space programme was in disarray, but a legacy of solid, reliable rockets has ensured their future as a commercial launch provider and they have even flown fare-paying tourists.

Marking the 50th anniversary of the first manned space flight, the BBC also reviews recent successes and asks a panel of experts what the future might hold for the Russian space programme.

Discovery: The Gagarin Legacy - on air and online from 11 April

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