TV viewing figures for the first day of the Queen’s jubilee were significantly lower than in previous royal cases, although millions were still set.
The largest audience of 7.5 million people watched the BBC show on color on Thursday, starting a long weekend of coverage to celebrate 70 years of the Queen’s reign.
Later that evening, the BBC broadcast on the lighting of beacons to mark the Queen’s 70th birthday attracted a maximum of 5 million viewers, according to data from the BARB rating agency.
By comparison, the audience at Prince Philip’s funeral last year peaked at more than 13 million, while the weddings of Prince William and Harry reached 26 million and 18 million viewers, respectively.
Relatively muted figures suggest that the public has taken advantage of the extra banking holiday and good weather to go out instead of being glued to their TVs.
Although color was still the most watched program on terrestrial television, ITV’s Coronation Street and Britain’s Got Talent did not lag behind with almost 4 million viewers each.
The BBC sometimes struggles with the tone of its royal coverage after being criticized during the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 for trying to use younger presenters in an attempt to attract a wider audience. Last year, the national broadcaster also received a record number of complaints from members of the public who believe they have gone too far with wall-to-wall coverage of Prince Philip’s death.
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Kirsty Young is back on television to host the BBC’s anniversary broadcast four years later without a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis with secondary fibromyalgia.
The BBC’s live commentary was provided by Hugh Edwards and deviated in controversy when a former Irish guard officer described the troops as “a great cocktail of mics”.
Jamie Lauther-Pinkerton said: “The mixes have this fantastic mix of guard discipline and striving for perfection, with that Irish ‘irrational tenth’, if I may quote Lawrence of Arabia, which makes it the best regiment on the planet.
Edwards intervened to say that while viewers thought the term was offensive, “it is worth emphasizing that you, the Irish Guards, call yourself that.”
Joe Dwyer of Sinn Féin wrote on Twitter: “The year is 2022 and the host of the BBC and someone in the British military are explaining why ‘mix’ is not really an offensive term for the Irish.”
The relatively moderate interest in watching royalty waving carriages and soldiers in line may also be a symptom of good holiday weather. Much of Britain was dry on Thursday, with many attending street parties and others using the long weekend to travel.
More than 20 million people watched the Queen’s coronation in 1953, surpassing radio listeners for the first time in television history.
A BBC spokesman said: “The Trooping the color was the most watched show of the day with over 7 million viewers and we are proud to provide the audience with a once-in-a-lifetime coverage of these events to mark the platinum anniversary with a number of special B BBC during the extended holiday weekend.
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