In 68 years of reign, Queen Elizabeth II has spoken to British television only a few times, apart from her traditional New Year wishes. On Sunday, his fifth speech, calling on the British people to remain determined, despite the difficulties, to overcome the coronavirus epidemic, became one of the most watched television events in a decade.
Broadcast on BBC One, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, Sky One, BBC News and Sky News at 8 p.m., the five-minute statement was followed by 24 million English people. The majority of this audience, some 14 million people, listened to the Queen of England on BBC One. These figures do not include online views or those of BBC America, for example.
If this score equals the audiences made across the Channel by the opening and closing ceremonies of the London Olympic Games in 2012, that is to say 24.2 million and 24.5 million respectively, it is however below the announcement of Boris Johnson to the nation two weeks ago. On Monday March 23, more than 27 million Britons watched the Prime Minister announce the containment of the country. Or almost as much as the broadcast of the marriage of Prince Charles and Lady Diana on July 29, 1981.
In France, President Emmanuel Macron's speech, broadcast on Monday March 16 at 8 p.m., was followed, on eleven channels, by a total of 35.3 million viewers, representing an audience share of 96%. An absolute record for a television intervention.
