Royal wedding: BBC waives TV licence fee for community street parties watching Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's ceremony
Royal wedding takes place on 19 May
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The BBC is lifting its TV licence fee for communities watching the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
Street parties and other special events held on 19 May will be able to screen the wedding live without having to buy a licence - which the BBC waives in exceptional circumstances.
Head of revenue management Pipa Doubtfire said: "In exceptional circumstances, the BBC can grant a dispensation for the temporary viewing of television, so as long as the viewing is for the sole purpose of screening an event which is judged by the BBC to be of national importance."
She added: "The BBC considers that the royal wedding is of such an event."
Prince Harry and Ms Markle will marry on 19 May at St George's Chapel in the grounds of Windsor Castle, with the ceremony broadcast live on television. The BBC has yet to reveal its full schedule but will show the event in full.
On ITV, coverage will run from 9.25am until 3pm, and be hosted by Philip Scofield, Julie Etchingham, Mary Nightingale and James Mates.
Local councils have received hundreds of applications to hold street parties where communities will celebrate the upcoming nuptals.
The BBC reports that the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government says around 60 applications have been made in Bromley, south east London; 54 in Richmond, west London, and 12 in Reading, Berkshire.
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