THE TV coverage of the Scottish "mini-coronation" for King Charles reached a “staggeringly low” audience of over two million viewers across the UK – only around a quarter of the number who tuned in for Elton John’s Glastonbury appearance.
The BBC screened a live programme, which was more than two hours long, to show the service of thanksgiving from St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh on Wednesday July 5.
The event to celebrate the King’s coronation included processions down the Royal Mile, a 21-gun salute, a flypast by the Red Arrows and a service in which the monarch was presented with the Honours of Scotland.
However it also saw protests by anti-monarchy groups, and shouts of “not my King” could be clearly heard with the cathedral during key moments of the service.
Asked to provide the viewing figures, the broadcaster told The National that the coverage had “reached” over two million people across the UK, with the “strongest performance” in Scotland.
In comparison, Elton John’s headline slot at Glastonbury Festival the week before was watched by 7.6 million viewers across the BBC, according to figures published by the Radio Times.
In May, the King’s coronation in London drew a peak audience of 20m in the UK – but the numbers were significantly lower than the 29m who watched Queen Elizabeth’s funeral.
Tristan Gray, convener of Our Republic, which was one of the groups protesting at the Edinburgh event, said: “I think it is really indicative of what we have been saying for a while now which is the vast majority of people, not just in Scotland but across the UK, have a pretty ambivalent view on the monarchy.
“They have no emotional or personal attachment to them and I think that undermines the legitimacy of the monarchy as an institution built to rule the UK.
“Their claim to rule has always been based on the fact they represent what Britain is and when you get such staggeringly low interest in Charles taking up his position it really shows that entire claim is built on quicksand.
“All it takes continued polling and viewing figures like this to show that what we have tended to be shown by the media until very recently, which is a false picture of universal acclaim of the monarch, really doesn’t represent the people of our country.”
He added: “Two million is not a great day on a Netflix TV show. If Stranger Things pulled in two million for the next series, I think they would probably cancel it – maybe it’s about time we cancelled the monarchy.”
Patrick Harvie, co-leader of the Scottish Green party, which supports the abolition of the monarchy, said: “For all the time, energy and money spent on this spectacle, the King’s coronation could only manage half the viewership of Coronation Street.
“With people’s wages continuing to fall in real terms while their energy, food and housing bills are skyrocketing, it’s no surprise that a lavish tax-payer funded party for a billionaire didn’t hold much appeal.
“Increasing numbers of people in Scotland want to put this circus behind us, and build a modern, democratic republic where our head of state is chosen by and accountable to voters."
