W&M featured on PBS special on Queen's visit

A royal visit William and Mary chancellor Sandra Day O'Connor has a brief moment with Her Majesty. Photo by Stephen Salpukas
A royal visit Students captured the historic visit on hundreds of personal cameras. Photo by Stephen Salpukas
A royal visit Queen Elizabeth II bids the College community farewell. Photo by Stephen Salpukas

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by Brian Whitson | November 13, 2008

The College of William and Mary was featured in primetime Wednesday night as part of documentary that aired on PBS regarding the May 2007 visit to the United States by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.

As part of that historic visit, the queen visited William & Mary and greeted more than 6,000 members of the campus and local community outside the Sir Christopher Wren Building on campus.

Wednesday night’s airing on PBS (local WHRO-TV Channel 15) was the first two-hour episode of “Monarchy, The Royal Family,” a BBC documentary that chronicles the life of Queen Elizabeth II and the royal family. The “State Visit” episode and included a behind-the-scenes look at the queen’s visit mark the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown as the first permanent English settlement. As part of that visit, Queen Elizabeth II stopped at William & Mary for about 45 minutes on May 4, 2007 – it was her first return to campus since she visited the College in 1957.

In the first hour of the opening episode, cameras follow the queen as she visits Richmond, Jamestown, Colonial Williamsburg and William & Mary. At the College, cameras followed the queen as she greeted thousands of cheering fans in the Wren Yard, tours the Wren Building – including witnessing the ringing of the Wren Bell in her honor -- and later waves from the balcony of the Wren Building after she is introduced as an honorary member of the Class of 2007. Nearly four minutes of the documentary was devoted to the College visit and the strong ties between William & Mary and Great Britain – a relationship that began more than 315 years ago with the awarding of the Royal Charter from King William III and Queen Mary II. In the second hour of the episode, the documentary focuses on the queen’s visit to Washington, D.C. and the White House .

The special will air on PBS on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. through November 26.