THE royal wedding of Britain’s Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones will be televised after all.

Up until this week, the couple had hoped that their wedding would be private, but have now bowed to public pressure and agreed to allow some of the June 19 ceremony to air world-wide.

The BBC will carry the event live, but the royal couple have insisted that all proceeds from the licensing rights and videos go to charity.

In the U.S., network news organzations have not decided if they will broadcast the event live.

“We’ll probably cover it as a news story, said ABC News spokeswoman, Eileen Murphy.

“But I do not think it’s something that we would consider for live coverage.”

A CBS News spokeswoman said that no decision had been made yet, and a spokeswoman for NBC News said the coverage was “still under consideration.”

Almost 20 years ago, when Prince Charles and Princess Diana were married, all three networks sent their heavy hitters – ranging from Dan Rather to Barbara Walters – to England to cover the event. And both “Today” and “Good Morning America” were broadcasting from Britain for an entire week leading up to the weddding.

The BBC’s live which began at 4:30 a.m. NYT was watched by more than 55 million Americans.

Chances are that kind of wall-to-wall coverage will not be seen for this royal wedding, which because of the time difference, will start at 10 p.m. EST.

The Prince, 35, and Rhys-Jones, 34, have emphasized that the wedding will be primarily a “friends and family” event rather than a state occasion.

The royal couple has however, made arrangements for more than 8,000 people to be on the grounds of Windsor Castle to watch the guests arrive for the early evening ceremony.