Plans were in place to cut down the 12 shows of the original show to 8 (58:38) shows for airing on PBS. Tragically, after Lord Mountbatten and his grandson, Nicholas, were assassinated by the IRA on 27 Aug 1979, the simple 12:8 ratio was changed to 12:7.5, as it was deemed appropriate to include new coverage of the elaborate state funeral, which was realized according to plans Lord Mountbatten had draw up previously. The PBS version was aired in 1980.