Coronation of Charles III: nearly 9 million viewers watched the ceremony in France

Nearly nine million viewers on average watched the coronation in London of King Charles III and Queen Camilla on Saturday on all the channels that broadcast it between noon and 2 p.m., according to data from Médiamétrie on Sunday.

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This corresponds to an audience share of 70.6% between 11:52 a.m. and 1:44 p.m. on TF1, France 2, M6 and the news channels (BFMTV, CNews, LCI, Franceinfo) which broadcast this unprecedented coronation for 70 years at the Westminster Abbey.

In detail, the special edition of France 2 was the most followed. It gathered nearly 3.7 million people on average between 11:50 a.m. and 3:50 p.m. for an audience share (PDA) of 30.2%. That of TF1 captured more than 3.5 million viewers (27.5% of PDA) between 11:50 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. and 2.8 million (24.2% of PDA) between 2:00 p.m. and 3:45 p.m.

2 million more than for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II

By way of comparison, the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II brought together an average of 7.5 million viewers (66.7% of PDA) on Monday September 19, 2022 between noon and 1 p.m. on all the French channels broadcasting it, a little more than those of her husband Prince Philip (seven million on April 17, 2021).

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The wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton on April 29, 2011 was watched by nine million French viewers on average between 9:25 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. on TF1, France 2, BFM TV and CNews. And that of Prince Harry and American actress Meghan Markle, May 19, 2018, by some eight million viewers.

Still with regard to the British royal family, the funeral of Lady Diana, on September 6, 1997, had been watched by 10.1 million viewers on average between 8:50 a.m. and 1:20 p.m., and only on TF1 and France 2, the news channels n does not yet exist. The record in France for this type of event remains the funeral of Johnny Hallyday, on December 9, 2017: they had attracted an average of 11.6 million viewers (76.1% audience share) between 9:40 a.m. and 3:25 p.m. on TF1 , France 2, BFM TV, CNews, Franceinfo and LCI.

In 1953, the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II was broadcast on French television, when France had only 59,971 TV receivers. The curious had gathered in the streets or at their neighbors equipped to follow this event, the first of this scale to be broadcast live internationally.