Royal reaction to Mandela’s passing

Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge were among the high-profile people who learned of Mandela’s death as the credits rolled at the London premier of his bio-pic ‘Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.’ Friday, Queen Elizabeth expressed her shock about the news: “Well I heard at 10 o’clock. And at the end of the… they were clapping like mad you know. Somebody came on and said… could you just listen, we’ve heard he died. It was amazing isn’t it? During the first night of the film.”

The Queen made her comments Friday while taking a moment to look at a plaque commemorating a visit by Mandela to Westminster Hall in 1996. Mandela’s daughters were also at the film’s premier and when they learned about his death and they wanted the screeening to go on.

Friday night at 10, CHCH will be airing a special edition of 20-20 called ‘Nelson Mandela: A man who changed the world.’ The one-hour special will focus on the long, eventful, polarizing, political and personal life of one of the 20th century’s greatest figures.

The hour will also feature reports from South Africa, details of Mandela’s death and plans for his funeral. Once again that airs tonight at 10, followed by the Evening News at Eleven.