King Charles coronation events’ viewing figures and how they compare to Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral
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With a star-studded line-up, millions tuned in to King Charles III's Coronation Concert last night, with millions more glued to their screens for the coronation itself. However, the events simply couldn’t compete with the turnout for Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral last September.
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Hide AdAgainst the “stunning backdrop of Windsor Castle”, performances from Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Take That, received a peak viewership of 12.3 million, according to the BBC. On average, the audience was at 10.1 million, according to overnight figures from the broadcaster.
Kate Phillips, BBC Director of Unscripted, said: “Last night’s Coronation Concert was an unforgettable evening of spectacular performances that brought us all together in celebration.
“Against the stunning backdrop of Windsor Castle, the concert reflected many of the King’s passions and highlighted the outstanding talent we have in the UK and beyond.”
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Hide AdQuoting a hit from the concert’s closing act, Take That, she added: “We hope that viewers ‘never forget’ it.”
Hosted by Hugh Bonneville, who kicked off the celebrations with Muppets star Miss Piggy, the night also saw the Prince of Wales pay a touching tribute to his father and his late grandmother the Queen.
Stars also paying tribute to the newly-crowned monarch included Hugh Jackman, Pierce Brosnan, Dame Joan Collins, Bear Grylls OBE, Alan Titchmarsh, and Sir Tom Jones, who all gave pre-recorded video messages in honour of the King throughout the evening.
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Hide AdTop Gun star Tom Cruise also delivered a video message from his War Bird plane, saying: “Pilot to pilot. Your Majesty, you can be my wingman any time,” before saluting and banking away.
In comparison, the coronation concert viewing figures were outperformed by the Platinum Jubilee concert, which took place in front of Buckingham Palace last June. The event celebrating Queen Elizabeth II’s 70 years on the throne was watched by an average of 13.1 million people on BBC One.
Exceeding that figure again, was the number of viewers switching on the King’s coronation service at Westminster Abbey on Saturday (May 6). Provisional figures showed it was watched by more than 18 million viewers in the UK.
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Hide AdThe ceremony was broadcast simultaneously on a range of channels between about 11am and 1pm, including BBC One and Two, ITV and Sky News. An average of 18.8 million people watched across 11 channels and services, with audience figures peaking at 20.4 million when the King was crowned just after midday, according to overnight ratings released by the research organisation Barb.
Yet even that figure was dwarfed by the ratings recorded for the funeral service of the late Queen last September which was seen by 26.5 million people across more than 50 TV channels.
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