LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 31: Prince Harry, Prince Phillip and Prince William enjoy the atmosphere during the 2015 Rugby World Cup Final match between New Zealand and Australia at Twickenham Stadium on October 31, 2015 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)

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Prince Philip’s funeral watched by more people than Harry and Meghan’s interview

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News Desk

Updated on April 18, 2021

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The Duke of Edinburgh was put to rest at an intimate ceremony in the grounds of Windsor Castle, which was viewed by a peak audience of more than 13 million people in the UK on the BBC, ITV, and Sky.

On the BBC, 11 million viewers watched the one-hour service, 2.1 million on ITV, and about 450,000 on Sky.

When Harry and Meghan’s blunt interview with Oprah Winfrey screened in the UK, 12.4 million people tuned in to see them accuse the Royal Family of systemic racism.

The large number of people who watched Saturday’s emotionally touching funeral service suggests that the pomp and pageantry of set-piece royal ceremonies continues to pique popular interest.

The number of people in the crowd further reflects the Duke’s popularity and public regard, as he has been a frequent presence in the lives for many centuries.

When you weigh in the viewership for news networks like BBC News, Sky News, and CNN International, the peak of 13 million would have been higher. At 3 p.m., Sky One, with example, simulcast Sky News for 50,000 viewers. Meanwhile, 1.2 million people tuned in to unique news bulletins on Channel 4 and Channel 5 at the same period.

The data comes from the official BARB overnight averages for Saturday between 15:00 and 16:00 BST.

Tom Bradby and Julie Etchingham co-hosted the ITV broadcast. Because of his suspicions, Prince William recently terminated his long-standing relationship with Bradby over siding with Prince Harry.

At 12.30 p.m., news reader Edwards took over the BBC’s solemn live broadcast dubbed HRH the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh’s Funeral.

The royals have been seen in public just a few times in the past year, with major social gatherings being canceled due to coronavirus restrictions.

The Windsor service was transmitted on radio and on many YouTube outlets in addition to television coverage.

The most of the viewers tuned in to BBC One. According to overnight BARB estimates provided by overnights.tv, it peaked at 10.8 million at 3 p.m. and averaged 6.62 million over the duration of a four-hour transmission.

According to the BBC, the funeral of the Queen Mother drew a total of 10.4 million viewers in 2002. In 1997, almost 32 million people witnessed Princess Diana’s funeral.

Although no figures for the Royal Family’s YouTube live stream were available, it was third on YouTube’s worldwide trending list on Sunday, based on view count.

1.31 million people viewed a different BBC Two funeral programme throughout the evening, which included an edited package of reporting.

It comes after the BBC received 109,741 reports in a week over the amount of attention it provided to Philip’s demise, a number that is said to be the highest in British broadcasting history.

Last Friday, the day of the Duke’s burial, the BBC cleared its schedules to simulcast special programmes on BBC One and BBC Two, with episodes of shows including MasterChef and EastEnders being removed from the day’s TV guide.

Thousands of citizens who would have flocked to London and Windsor in regular times to line the streets and see the procession were forced to watch from afar as Buckingham Palace begged them to sit at home.

The funeral was broadcast on the BBC for nearly four hours, led by veteran broadcaster Huw Edwards.

Although the BBC won the ratings battle yesterday, audiences chastised Edwards for talking so much over the footage.

The Queen mourned her 73-year-old husband with grace and stoicism at a service that reflected Prince Philip’s personality and honored his life, military service, and legacy.

The Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and the Duke of Sussex – who had just returned from the United States – were among others in attendance.

Just a few weeks have passed after Harry’s infamous Oprah Winfrey interview, in which he was seen to be “incandescent” with fury.

Despite this, he and Harry seemed to be at ease with each other’s company as they headed back to Windsor Castle from St George’s Chapel.