The coronation will take place over a bank holiday weekend in May (Picture: AP)
BBC’s licence fee will be suspended for King Charles’ Coronation weekend, it was announced.
Millions of Brits will be able to watch the ceremony at Westminster Abbey and the special concert at Windsor Castle for free.
Venues will be allowed to screen the live of the two once-in-a-lifetime events on May 6 and 7 without needing to fork out for an annual licence.
The BBC stressed the dispensation is granted in ‘exceptional circumstances’, with the event needing to be of ‘national importance’ and screened in a community setting.
It will be the first coronation since Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 (Picture: PA)
Examples cited by TV licensing include churches, town halls, cinemas and concert and performing arts venues.
The dispensation also applies to any outdoor venues which have the facilities to screen the coverage.
The decision on whether an event is of national importance is taken on a case-by-case basis.
During the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June last year, the BBC again scrapped the fee.
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Charles’ coronation is the first to be staged in the country for 70 years and it will see the royal anointed and crowned by the Archbishop of Canterbury in front of more than 2,000 guests.
The Queen Consort will also be anointed and crowned in a simpler ceremony during the coronation service.
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Such dispensations are only granted in ‘exceptional circumstances’.Â
