How To Watch The Events from King Charles III's Coronation Weekend
When Elizabeth II’s unprecedented 70-year reign on the English throne finally ended when she passed away at the age of 96 in September 2022, King Charles III quietly stepped up, proving Keeping Calm and Carrying On runs in the family. Though the Monarchy might not be as popular as it once was, it's not going anywhere anytime soon. Therefore, as is tradition, King Charles III will be coronated in due course, and, like his mother before him, it will be televised.
Elizabeth’s coronation took over a year to prepare; her father, George VI, passed on February 2, 1952, but her ceremony did not occur until June 2, 1953. It was the first to be broadcast live, the second-ever live broadcast event in the Western world after Eisenhower's inauguration earlier that year, airing in the UK and Europe simultaneously. (Americans, Canadians, and Australians watched on tape delay the next day, which was a super fast turnaround at the time.)
Charles is not waiting so long, nor will his coronation take nearly as many days. Elizabeth’s coronation came with two bank holidays and four days of celebration, though it was only considered a single-day event. Charles will only have a single bank holiday, but the entire three days, from Saturday to Monday, is being treated as a celebration, a shrinkflation worthy of the monarchy. It will also roll directly into Eurovision, which begins on Tuesday, May 9, and runs through Saturday, the 13, creating a week-long celebration on the BBC.
