Queen's funeral to attract one of UK's biggest TV audiences and may beat Diana's service for viewers

The funeral of Queen Elizabeth II is likely to attract one of the largest UK television audiences of recent decades, possibly ever. More recently, an average of 6.8 million watched BBC One's coverage of the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh on April 17, 2021 - more than twice the number for ITV. The BBC said the state funeral in January 1965 of former prime minister Sir Winston Churchill was watched by 20 million people and five million on ITV. Around 32million people in the UK watched Princess Diana's funeral in 1997 - it is still the most viewed televised event domestically Sir Winston Churchill's state funeral in 1952 was watched by a reported 25million, although the figures were not independently verified The marriage between Prince William and Kate Middleton drew an audience of 17million The viewership for Prince Philip's funeral reached around 11million in 2021 1981: The wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana was another royal event that attracted enormous attention - with around 1billion watching the momentous occasion globally A combined UK TV audience of over 20 million is likely for the Queen's funeral on September 19, based on ratings for similarly high-profile recent occasions. Boris Johnson's national lockdown announcement received a smaller audience than Princess Diana's funeral The Queen's funeral is likely to be watched by more people in the UK than the Euros 2020 final, in which England lost The Queen's televised address during the Covid lockdown on April 5, 2020, was watched by 24.3 million across seven channels The Queen's televised address during the Covid lockdown on April 5, 2020, in which she echoed Dame Vera Lynn's wartime song and told the nation 'we will meet again', was watched by 24.3 million across seven channels.