The Coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla was the most watched programme in 2023, figures show.
The historic moment marked the first Coronation in over 70 years and pulled in an impressive average viewing of 12.8 million people to the three-hour programme.
The Coronation of King Charles III – Charles and Camilla wave from the balcony at Buckingham Palace
The Coronation saw 2,200 individuals present at Westminster Abbey, much shorter than Elizabeth II’s guest list of over 8,000, while thousand more waited outside and millions watched from the comfort of their own home.
Last year, it had been the funeral of Elizabeth II taking the top spot, showing a continued interest in historic royal events.
This year, second on the list was the Eurovision Song Contest, followed by Strictly Come Dancing, but other live events also piqued interest, including Wimbledon, England women’s football, and Glastonbury.
Back in 1953, 27 million people across Britain watched Elizabeth II’s coronation, the first to be televised in full.
Charlotte Moore, BBC Chief Content Officer said: ‘Only the BBC can offer such scale, distinctiveness and ambition. Our range of world-class programmes is unrivalled, we’ve delivered value to audiences and they’ve chosen the BBC in every genre.
‘We are facing tough financial challenges, and while we are not unique in this, what’s impressive is that despite all the millions being spent on global platforms, we’ve had an extraordinary year creatively.’
King Charles was crowned with St Edward’s Crown; whilst Queen Camilla was crowned as Queen with Queen Mary’s Crown, which had been changed slightly with some unique additions in tribute to her late mother-in-law, Elizabeth II.
During the Coronation, The Prince of Wales pledged allegiance to His Majesty, which was followed by a balcony appearance from the newly-crowned couple. They were joined by working members of the Royal Family, their Pages of Honour and The Queen’s Ladies in Attendance.
