Queen Elizabeth’s Funeral Set To Become Biggest Broadcast Of All Times With 4.1 Million Viewers

Queen Elizabeth's state funeral is set for Monday, Sept. 19, at Westminster Abbey, and is anticipated to be the biggest broadcast of all time with BBC One, BBC iPlayer, and BBC News covering the monarch’s funeral in the UK. ITV will air the state funeral live without interruption on its main and subordinate channels. With the help of modern technology, millions are expected to watch this historic moment from across the globe.

TV analyst, Carolina Beltramo from WatcHTVAbroad.com said that the sheer amount of love and admiration people had for the Queen even outside of the U.K., will make this funeral the biggest live TV event in history as the world bids farewell to a beloved leader. She added that many generations of people were not alive the last time such pomp and pageantry has been organized on this scale. Although the occasion is indeed a sad event, Beltramo added that people can be forgiven for their excitement in witnessing this historic moment, with billions about to witness the end of one age and the birth of another.

She remarked that half of the world will pause to pay their respects to Britain's longest reigning monarch, with about 4 billion people expected to watch the state funeral on Monday. A bank holiday was issued by the U.K. government to ensure that more people will be able to witness their beloved monarch being laid to rest, with their family and friends, the Metro reported.

A large-scale military procession will be held on Monday morning, escorting the Queen's coffin from the Palace of Westminster to Westminster Abbey, where the state funeral will be held. Senior Royal Family members will follow behind the procession as they did for the late Princess Diana. The military will be lining the streets and joining the procession. Key Foreign officials, Heads of state, Prime Ministers, and even royals from around the world are invited to attend the funeral at Westminster Abbey, which is said to have a capacity of 2000 persons.

After the service has finished, the coffin will travel from the Abbey to Wellington Arch then to Windsor, and finally to St. George’s Chapel. Mourners have been strongly advised to avoid certain “hotspots” as some train stations could be shut down at short notice. However, Network Rail assured the public it would run services through the night on selected routes with provisions of extra trains on Monday.