Nearly 24 hours after the news of his mother’s dying was verified, the new king, King Charles III, will deliver his first speech in public at 6 p.m. today.
According to the British ratings agency Overnights.tv, 33 million people watched the nation’s news networks yesterday as the public yearned for updates on Queen Elizabeth II health.
The 67 million people in the nation were exposed to nonstop news coverage on the breaking story between 12 p.m. yesterday and 2 a.m. today, British local time, on the likes of BBC One, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, and Sky News.
At 6.30 p.m., the Queen’s passing was confirmed following hours of health-related rumour following a statement stating that she was being monitored by doctors. 6.2 million people were watching BBC One’s rolling news coverage at the moment; 15 minutes later, that figure increased to almost 10 million. During the time immediately following the announcement, about 85% of all TV viewers were watching the news broadcast.
King Charles III will give his first public speech since ascending to the throne at 6 p.m. today, it has been announced. The British monarchy is designed so that the successor assumes power as soon as the outgoing monarch dies, and Charles will be formally crowned today by the Accession Council. His inauguration as king will happen later.
From Balmoral, where Queen Elizabeth died away, Charles is currently travelling by plane to London. Prior to his televised statement, which is expected to be shown on all major networks and garner a sizable audience, he will meet with Prime Minister Liz Truss.
