Queen Elizabeth's Funeral Watched by Record Audience
Unsurprisingly, millions tuned in to watch the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch in British history. According to Deadline, the funeral was watched by a peak of 37.5 million viewers in the United Kingdom. The publication also noted that 27 million people tuned in to the procession itself.
Channels across the United Kingdom showed the Queen's funeral on Monday. BBC, ITV, Sky, and other channels all carried the broadcast. Deadline reported that there was an advertising blackout while the channels were airing the funeral services and that nearly all program was disrupted in order to air the event. After compiling numbers across all channels, it was determined that the monarch's funeral had the biggest audience for a TV broadcast in the United Kingdom in history.
Deadline pointed out that events of a similar nature also had high viewership in the country. Around 30 million tuned in to watch Princess Diana's funeral in 1997. Many also tuned in for the funerals of Prince Philip and the Queen Mother. While over 37 million in the United Kingdom tuned in to watch Queen Elizabeth be laid to rest, the number pales in comparison to how many people watched the event around the world. Estimates have noted that nearly 4 billion people around the world tuned in to watch the late monarch's funeral.
The British royal family put on a united front for the funeral. King Charles III, Camilla, the Queen Consort, Prince William, Catherine, the Princess of Wales, Prince Harry, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, Prince George, and Princess Charlotte were amongst the many members of the family who attended. The funeral took place 11 days after Queen Elizabeth died. She died on Sept. 8 at the age of 96 while at her Balmoral Castle residence. Since then, her eldest son, Charles, succeeded her on the throne.
Shortly after her death was announced, the new king issued a statement about her passing. He began his statement by saying that the royal family was mourning the loss of the beloved monarch. Charles wrote, "We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished Sovereign and a much-loved Mother. I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world." The monarch ended his statement by sharing that he and the rest of the family were taking comfort in knowing how widely respected Queen Elizabeth was around the world.