14 million people reportedly watched Coronation of KING CHARLES III

 Sunday May 7, 2023 – More than 14 million people tuned in to watch King Charles III’s coronation on BBC television, the corporation said on Sunday May 7.

At its peak, 13.4 million watched on the main BBC One channel, with an average of 11.9 million watching the Saturday, May 6 coverage of the ceremony.

A signed version on BBC Two peaked at 1.7 million, averaging at 1.4 million, a statement from the public broadcaster read.

Saturday’s coronation, the first to be held in Britain in 70 years — was only the second to be televised, and the first to be shown in colour film.

But the figures are way lower than previous major royal occasions.

Last year’s state funeral of Charles’s mother Queen Elizabeth II attracted one of the biggest television audiences in the UK in modern times.

An estimated average audience of 26.2 million watched on TV sets alone, peaking at 28 million, including 18.5 million on the BBC.

In 2011, more than 24 million viewers watched the wedding of Charles’s son Prince William on BBC terrestrial television.

In 1997, more than 32 million viewers in the UK watched the funeral of Charles’s first wife and William’s mother, Princess Diana.