Was Elizabeth II’s coronation shown on TV and how many people watched?

Queen Elizabeth II was coronated in 1953 (Photo by The Print Collector/Getty Images)

The Coronation of King Charles III is now just over a week away, and it promises to be a long weekend filled with pageantry and celebration.

In the lead-up to the big day, those who remember the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II are likely to be thinking back to the event, 70 years ago.

1953 was a very different time to today, and many people did not have a television in their homes.

But was the late Queen’s coronation televised? And if so, how many people watched it?

Let’s find out.

Was the coronation of Elizabeth II on tv?

The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on June 2, 1953 was televised by the BBC and was the first major event to be broadcast internationally.

It was a key event in making television use mainstream in the UK.

However, it was not the first coronation to be broadcast; the coronation procession of the late Queen’s father, George VI in 1937 was televised, but the actual ceremony in Westminster Abbey was not.

Queen Elizabeth II gave the BBC permission to install eight cameras inside Westminster Abbey for her coronation so that the public could see for the first time, a coronation ceremony taking place.

The coronation ceremony of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Abbey was the first to be televised (Picture:Getty)

Filming inside the Abbey went against official advice, and show the late Queen’s determination to bring the monarchy into the modern age.

 Richard Dimbleby provided television commentary from inside the Abbey and seven other commentators provided commentary along the procession route.

How many people watched Elizabeth II’s coronation?

In the UK, over 20 million people watched Elizabeth II’s coronation broadcast live on TV.

The broadcast brought people together as 10.4 million people watched it in the houses of friends and neighbours (it was not common to have a television at the time) and 1.5 million watched in public places like pubs and cinemas.

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There was an average of 17 people watching the event for every small black and white tv.

Many people purchased and rented tv’s specifically to watch the coronation, and the number of television license holders doubled from approximately one and a half million to three million.

The BBC’s coronation broadcast was not just televised in the UK, but was broadcast across the world.

In the US, 85 million people watched recordings of the highlights and in Germany, 11 hours of footage were broadcast.

The worldwide television audience for the coronation was estimated to be 277 million.

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The last coronation was a major event.