Billions expected to tune in for Queen’s funeral
“Such is the love and admiration for Queen Elizabeth II that her funeral is destined to be the biggest live TV event in history,” says Carolina Beltramo, TV analyst at WatchTVAbroad.com.She adds: “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.
“No fewer than 4.1 billion 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 means most of us now carry TVs around in our pockets, audience figures will eclipse the opening ceremony of the Atlanta Olympics, when 3.6 billion people watched Muhammad Ali light the Olympic torch in 1996.
“In contrast, an estimated 2.5 billion people watched the service for Diana, Princess of Wales, 25 years ago, with 31 million Brits tuning in. This was then a UK record for a live TV event,” Beltramo said.
The Queen’s funeral will be broadcast on various channels, but the place to watch it is undoubtedly on BBC. The UK’s public service broadcaster is already showing back-to-back coverage of all the events around the Queen’s final journey from Balmoral to London, as well as the proclamation of her son Charles as King Charles III.
The Queen’s coffin will be lying in state in Westminster Hall, part of the Parliamentary estate that dates back almost a thousand years to the reign of King William II, for four days before the funeral.
From there, the funeral procession will carry the coffin the short distance across Parliament Square to Westminster Abbey, where the state funeral will take place. It is expected to be attended by leaders and dignitaries from all over the world, including President Hage Geingob.
After the main ceremony, the Queen’s coffin will be taken by road to Windsor Castle; her home, and the location of St. George’s Chapel, where all Kings and Queen of the UK are buried.
There, after a short family service, the Queen will be laid to rest.
Queen Elizabeth II is the longest-serving monarch in British history. She came to the throne on 6 February 1952 at the age of 25 and reigned for seventy years. During that time, she oversaw much change. When she came to the throne, the UK was still recovering from the Second World War. In her final years, she was greeting people from all over the world on Zoom during the CovidD-19 pandemic.
Of course, she wasn’t just the UK’s Queen. She was Queen of more than 32 countries during her lifetime as well as Head of the Commonwealth. Regardless of your views on the monarchy as an institution, her death was felt globally.