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Queen’s funeral set to be world's ‘most watched’ broadcast in history

With an estimated 4.1 billion viewers, the Queen's funeral will be the most watched broadcast in history worldwide, according to experts

BY TUHIN CHAKRABORTY

PUBLISHED SEP 15, 2022

Queen Elizabeth II will be laid to rest at Westminster Abbey in London on Monday, September 19 (Jane Barlow - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

With an estimated 4.1 billion viewers, the Queen's funeral is expected to become the most-watched broadcast in history, surpassing the opening ceremony of the 1996 Olympics, which was seen by 3.6 billion people worldwide. A few days after her death on Thursday, Sept 8, the late monarch will be laid to rest at Westminster Abbey in London on Monday, Sept 19. BBC One, BBC News, and BBC iPlayer will cover Her Majesty's funeral in the UK, while ITV will broadcast the event live and without interruption on its main channel and simultaneously on all its digital platforms.

Thanks to technology, millions of people around the world will be watching this historic moment. According to the Daily Mail, Carolina Beltramo, TV analyst at WatchTVAbroad.com, predicts, “Such is the love and admiration for Queen Elizabeth II around the world that her funeral is destined to be the biggest live TV event in history. Generations of people across the globe won’t have been alive the last time pomp and pageantry were seen on this scale. While it’s a sad occasion, they can be forgiven for being enthralled by a spectacle that echoes throughout history. For that reason alone they’ll be drawn to witness the dawn of this new age in their billions.”

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“No fewer than a 4.1billion people are expected to tune in on Monday to witness this historic moment as half the people on planet Earth pause to pay their respects. Thanks to advances in technology, which mean most of us now carry TVs around in our pockets, audience figures will eclipse the opening ceremony of the Atlanta Olympics, when 3.6billion people watched Muhammad Ali light the Olympic torch in 1996. In contrast, an estimated 2.5billion people watched the service for Diana, Princess of Wales, 25 years ago, with 31million Brits tuning in,” Carolina remarked.

Queen Elizabeth II watches from the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the Trooping the Colour parade the Trooping the Colour parade on June 2, 2022 in London, England. Trooping The Colour, also known as The Queen's Birthday Parade, is a military ceremony performed by regiments of the British Army that has taken place since the mid-17th century. It marks the official birthday of the British Sovereign. This year, from June 2 to June 5, 2022, there is the added celebration of the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II in the UK and Commonwealth to mark the 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne on 6 February 1952. — Experts predict that no fewer than a 4.1billion people are expected to watch the Queen's funeral on September, 19 (Jonathan Brady - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, a national holiday will be observed on Monday, September 19, so that as many people as possible can attend the Queen's funeral. The casket will be transported from the Palace of Westminster to Westminster Abbey for the state funeral early on Monday, September 19. Senior members of the family are expected to follow behind, just as they did for the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, and the Duke of Edinburgh. The armed forces will line the streets and participate in the parade. Heads of state, prime ministers and presidents, European royals, and key figures from public life will be invited to gather in the abbey, which can hold a congregation of 2,000.

King Charles III, Anne, Princess Royal, Camilla, Queen Consort, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, Prince William, Prince of Wales, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Sophie, Countess of Wessex, Catherine, Princess of Wales, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Prince Michael of Kent pay their respects inside the Palace of Westminster for the Lying-in State of Queen Elizabeth II on September 14, 2022 in London, England. Queen Elizabeth II's coffin is taken in procession on a Gun Carriage of The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall where she will lay in state until the early morning of her funeral. Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8, 2022, and is succeeded by her eldest son, King Charles III. — Queen Elizabeth II's coffin is taken in procession on a Gun Carriage of The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall where she will lay in state until the early morning of her funeral on September 19 (Phil Noble - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

The coffin will be transported from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Arch and then to Windsor following the service. Once there, the hearse will travel in procession to St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle via the Long Walk, after which a televised committal service will take place in St George’s Chapel. Private interment service with senior members of the royal family will also reportedly take place later that evening. The King George VI memorial chapel, a wing of the main chapel where Her Majesty's parents and sister Princess Margaret's ashes were buried, will serve as the Queen's last resting place. The late Prince Philip’s coffin will also move from the Royal Vault to the memorial chapel to join the Queen’s.