How To Watch King Charles III’s Coronation: Livestream, Schedule & TV Coverage
King Charles III’s historic Coronation on May 6 starts at 10 a.m. BST in the UK at 5 a.m. ET/2 a.m. PT in the U.S. Every major British and American network will have live coverage of the event, which you can watch live in the player embedded below.
THE ITINERARY
The first Coronation for seven decades will see Charles and Queen Consort Camilla take a King’s Procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey. There will then be a service during which the official Coronation will take place, beginning around 10:20 a.m. GMT (2:20 a.m. PT)
King Charles III will be officially crowned, and his wife Camilla will become Queen Camilla during the ceremony. King Charles technically became King upon his mother Queen Elizabeth II’s death in September, but the Coronation — the first in the UK since 1953 — will make it official. Camilla has been Queen Consort since Queen Elizabeth II’s death but will simply be called Queen Camilla from this weekend onward.
Later, the newly crowned King and Queen will greet crowds from the Buckingham Palace balcony for six minutes while dozens of military planes fly past. Crowds are expected to line the streets in Central London to catch a glimpse of what will be the largest military ceremonial operation for seven decades, while street parties are being planned across the UK. A Coronation Concert will take place the following day, live on the BBC, while Monday is a Bank Holiday in the UK.
WHO WILL BE THERE
Tom Cruise, Tom Jones and Joan Collins have been added to the plans for the King’s Coronation Concert and will pre-record messages for the BBC extravaganza. Meanwhile, new Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa will perform excerpts from an unannounced Shakespeare play, and there will be appearances from Amanda Holden, Motsi Mabuse, Rose Ayling-Ellis and Gareth Malone, along with a special appearance from Winnie the Pooh, which follows Paddington Bear’s Jubilee surprise.
MEDIA COVERAGE: UK
BBC
BBC
The BBC has a packed two days worth of coverage planned for the Coronation. On May 6, it will cover the ceremonial proceedings on BBC One and the BBC News channel throughout the day from 7.30 a.m. GMT (11.30 p.m PT), with a signed version on BBC Two and accessible coverage for people who are blind or partially sighted via the red button. Bespoke commentary, starting with the atmosphere on the streets of London as the street-liners take position, will set the scene for the departure of Their Majesties The King and The Queen Consort from Buckingham Palace. The coverage will be helmed by BBC News regular Huw Edwards, who will provide commentary, along with Countryfile host Anita Rani and Clare Balding, the new face of UK tennis coverage. Other presenters include Kirsty Young, JJ Chalmers, Sophie Raworth and radio presenters Mishal Hussain, Martha Kearney and James Naughtie. Audiences outside the UK will be able to watch on the BBC News channel or listen on the World Service. A special The Coronation: A Day to Remember highlights wrap will air at 7 p.m. GMT (11 a.m. PT).
Presented by Paddington star Hugh Bonneville and with Clara Amfo and Jordan Banjo backstage, The Coronation Concert will take place the following day (Sunday May 7) at 8 p.m. GMT (12 p.m. PT) for two hours on BBC One. The Concert will feature huge names including Take That, Lionel Richie and Katy Perry. At the centre of the show, the Royal Shakespeare Company will perform excerpts from a Shakespeare play, featuring new Doctor Who Ncuti Gatwa, while a centerpiece Lighting up the Nation section will see iconic locations across the UK lit up using projections, lasers, potential drone displays and illuminations.
ITV
ITV will air King Charles III: Coronation from 8.30 a.m. GMT (1.30 a.m PT) to 3 p.m. GMT (7 a.m. PT). Julie Etchingham and Prince Harry interviewer Tom Bradby will oversee the proceedings, which are produced by ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 News maker ITN, and Mary Nightingale, Nina Hossain, Charlene White and James Mates will be stationed at key locations. The pubcaster has also been featuring a series of Coronation dispatches and specials from morning shows This Morning, Good Morning Britain (GMB) and Lorraine throughout the week leading up to the event. Both GMB and This Morning’s Coronation specials are available via Britbox International in the U.S., Australia, South Africa and the Nordics. ITN is also providing the feed for CNN in the U.S. and multiple European territories via the European Broadcasting Union.
Channel 4
In keeping with its position as the UK’s anarchic, youth-skewing broadcaster, Channel 4 has set a week of alternative shows to mark the Coronation. In documentary Andrew – The Problem Prince, Emily Maitlis, who interviewed the disgraced Prince for his famous Newsnight shellacking, will speak in detail about the interview that shook the monarchy and the world in November 2019. Meanwhile, The Windsors – Coronation Special (pictured) will see Harry Enfield reprize his comedy role as King Charles, whose whole life has been building up to this moment and who wants the UK’s first Coronation in 70 years to be a spectacular affair, as does his Queen Consort Camilla (Haydn Gwynne). Finally, Frankie Boyle’s Farewell to the Monarchy will spotlight the Royal Family in a wry, irreverent style by looking back at the 1,000-year-old institution. All shows will air across the week.
Sky News
Sky News will also show live coverage of the Coronation. Hosted by Absolutely Fabulous star Joanna Lumley with Alastair Bruce, Kay Burley and Anna Botting, the pay-TV giant’s news operation will also show coverage throughout the day.
The event will air in the UK on GB News
MEDIA COVERAGE: U.S.
ABC News
Starting at 5 a.m. ET on ABC and streaming live on ABC News Live, coverage will be anchored by Good Morning America‘s Michael Strahan and Lara Spencer, along with Deborah Roberts, Ian Pannell, James Longman, Maggie Rulli, Britt Clennett, Lama Hasan, Robert Jobson, Victoria Murphy and others.
CBS News
CBS Saturday Morning co-hosts Michelle Miller, Dana Jacobson and Jeff Glor will co-anchor Coronation coverage from 5-10 a.m. ET. Among those also taking part are Holly Williams, Mark Phillips, Imtiaz Tyab, Chris Livesay, Tina Brown and Wesley Kerr. CBS Newspath will provide coverage of the Coronation to its 200-plus CBS Television Network affiliates nationwide and to broadcasters around the world.
CNN
Anderson Cooper will lead the cable net’s live coverage beginning at 5 a.m. ET, with analysis and reporting from Christiane Amanpour and Max Foster. Richard Quest and Julia Chatterley will contribute from CNN’s London studio alongside Kate Williams, Emily Nash, Sally Bedell Smith and Trisha Goddard. Reporters positioned on the Coronation procession route will include Bianca Nobilo, Salma Abdelaziz, Matthew Chance and Anna Stewart. CNN reporters will also provide perspective from Commonwealth countries including India, Australia and Kenya. CNN International will broadcast early coverage of the Coronation starting at 1a.m. ET with Isa Soares, Nada Bashir, Christina Macfarlane, and Anna Stewart.
Fox News Channel
Coverage starts at 5 a.m. ET, led by Martha MacCallum, Ainsley Earhardt and Piers Morgan. Greg Palkot, Alex Hall Benjamin Hall and Brit Hume will contribute, along with guests commentary by Duncan Lancombe and Chris Andersen. Fox News Digital will feature live updates on Foxnews.com with commentary and insight from longtime royal experts, and Fox News Audio will provide multi-platform coverage with its Fox News Radio affiliates nationwide. Jonathan Savage will provide audio commentary.
NBC News
Savannah Guthrie will anchor coverage starting at 5 a.m. ET. She will be joined by NBC News correspondents from across the UK including Keir Simmons, Kelly Cobiella, Molly Hunter, Meagan Fitzgerald as well as contributors Wilfred Frost, Daisy McAndrew, Katie Nicholl and Simon Lewis. Today.com and NBCNews.com will livestream the network’s coverage, along with NBC News NOW and TODAY All Day.
Erik Pedersen and Tom Tapp contributed to this report.
Source: Deadline
