Catch the British royal family on DStv this month

From popular journalism to historic accounts, British royalty is an inescapable part of pop culture.

And if you want an even bigger scoop of royalty, unwind in front of the TV, whether you like it soapie or serious.

Harry and Meghan: Becoming Royal

Charlie Field and Tiffany Smith. Picture: Lifetime

It’s been just over a year since Prince Harry married American actress Meghan Markle. A love story that seemed like a ditsy romcom. Except it was as real.

Lifetime’s newest movie about their relationship, Harry and Meghan: Becoming Royal, will premiere on Sunday. The scripted drama follows on from last year’s hit movie Harry and Meghan: Royal Romance.

It continues the love story of newlyweds Prince Harry (played by Charlie Field from Genius) and Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle (played by Tiffany Smith from Supernatural).

Charlie Field and Tiffany Smith. Picture: Lifetime

As a television portrayal of the royal couple, Harry and Meghan: Becoming Royal pulls back the curtain to reveal the untold joys and challenges of life inside the royal family during their pivotal first year of marriage.

Beyond blending their families and cultures, Harry and Meghan’s core values are put to the test as they try to find the balance between honouring royal tradition and staying true to their own beliefs.

From the controversies with Meghan’s father in the build-up to their wedding day to the couple discussing preparations for walking down the aisle, royal fans will get a sneak peek behind the scenes of Harry and Meghan’s relationship.

• Don’t miss Harry and Meghan: Becoming Royal on Lifetime (DStv 131) on Sunday at 7.20pm

Her Majesty’s Cavalry

The Household Cavalry on parade Picture: Lion TV

The final programme in the ITV Choice Royal Season 2019 programme is Her Majesty’s Cavalry, a six-part-series that starts on June 12. The show follows the oldest and most recognisable regiment of the British Army, the Household Cavalry, in a year of dramatic change.

From riding horses at the royal wedding, to riding tanks across the Middle East, cameras were allowed inside to capture what life is really like for the soldiers, from the newest recruits to the most decorated officers.

In the first episode, we go behind the scenes of the Household Cavalry’s prestigious Knightsbridge barracks and see the stables used by hundreds of soldiers and horses.

We meet the regiment’s newest recruits on their first day of training. Most of these new troopers have never been anywhere near a horse before. Now they must prove themselves worthy of joining the regiment most admired for their equine skills.

We also follow the regiment as they practise for the annual Queen’s Birthday Parade, for which only perfection will do.

• Her Majesty’s Cavalry will screen on ITV Choice (DStv 123) on Wednesdays at 8pm

Victoria

Jenna Coleman in Victoria. Picture: ITV

Victoria, the acclaimed and award-winning historical drama series, returned to South Africa for a third season this week.

Again starring Jenna Coleman in the title role alongside Tom Hughes, who plays her husband Prince Albert, the new series will also feature Kate Fleetwood as Princess Feodora of Leiningen, Victoria’s half-sister, as well as Laurence Fox as Foreign Secretary Lord Palmerston, John Sessions as Prime Minister John Russell and Lily Travers as the Duchess of Monmouth.

The series begins in 1848, a time of political turmoil in Europe. Monarchs are losing their thrones and Victoria has to wonder if she will be next. She also has to grapple with what it means to be a queen and she clashes with Albert over the role of the monarchy.

Victoria wants to give her people what they want, while Albert thinks the role of a monarch is to give the subjects what they need. He is horrified by her need for popular approval and she is alarmed by his disregard for the press.

Tom Hughes and Jenna Coleman in Victoria. Picture: ITV

In addition, Victoria is pregnant with her sixth child and they are having problems with Bertie, the Prince of Wales, who unlike his older sister Vicky, shows no aptitude for learning and is willfully disobedient. Today, he would be diagnosed as dyslexic, but then he was just considered slow.

The couple’s difficulties are compounded by the arrival of Feodora, Victoria’s older half-sister whose feelings for her sibling are complicated to say the least. Victoria has everything – position, wealth, a happy marriage – that Feodora does not, and Feodora knows who she holds responsible for this state of affairs.

To add to the tension, there is a troublesome foreign secretary in the shape of Lord Palmerston, who shows no respect for Victoria and Albert’s fellow sovereigns in Europe, and who seems to have Teflon-coated popularity with the British public.

He is equally unpopular with the prime minister, Lord John Russell, who is forced to have him in his Cabinet because he is so popular in the party.

• Victoria is on ITV Choice (DStv 123) on Mondays at 8pm

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