King Charles III Tim Rooke/Shutterstock
The biggest event of the year. King Charles III is set to be crowned at Westminster Abbey in London, but viewers from around the world will be able to witness the historical moment for themselves on TV.
The festivities will begin bright and early on Saturday, May 6, as the ceremony will commence at 6 a.m. ET (a.k.a 11 a.m. U.K. time). CNN, NBC, Fox News and more major U.S. stations are expected to air the coronation via cable, YouTube live streams and live TV subscriptions such as Hulu + Live TV, DIRECTV, Sling TV and FuboTV.
ABC News and Good Morning America’s royal coverage will run from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. ET, beginning with Charles, 74, and his wife Queen Consort Camilla Parker Bowles’ procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey. Viewers can also tune in to the coronation — which ABC will re-air throughout the day — via ABCNews.com and GoodMorningAmerica.com.
BBC America is also likely to cover the historic moment for American viewers with a TV subscription, as BBC will be airing the day’s events in the U.K.
The celebrations will continue on Sunday, May 7, with Charles’ official coronation concert, which will be broadcast across all BBC networks, ABC/GMA and other major news networks. The concert — which will feature performances from Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, Take That and more — begins at 8 p.m. U.K. time, meaning coverage will likely start at 3 p.m. ET.
Prince William and Princess Kate are among many royal family members who will be in attendance at the coronation, including Charles’ siblings Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, along with their respective children. Camilla’s son Thomas and daughter Laura — whom she shares with ex-husband Andrew Parker Bowles — are also expected to attend.
William, 40, and Kate’s three kids — Prince George, 9, Princess Charlotte, 7, and Prince Louis, 4 — will all be participating in the ceremony by walking in the coronation procession with the rest of their family.
Prince Harry confirmed he would be attending his father’s coronation without his wife, Meghan Markle, on April 12. The following day, a source exclusively revealed to Us Weekly that the former Suits star decided to skip the event because it lands on the same day as her and Harry’s son Archie’s fourth birthday. The couple also share their 22-month-old daughter, Lilibet.
“As much as Meghan appreciates the invite to the coronation, she wouldn’t miss her son’s birthday for the world,” the insider said at the time. “Despite being the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan is a mom first.”
A second source told Us on April 14 that the new monarch was “sad” about his daughter-in-law’s decision not to attend the coronation, noting, “Charles was hoping the coronation would be a chance to better connect and maintain healing between them.”
Meghan’s absence isn’t the only controversy surrounding the historic day. Camilla’s coronation crown, Queen Mary’s 1911 Coronation headpiece, features the Koh-i-Noor diamond, which was seized by the East India Company in 1849. The Palace announced in February that the crown would be modified to replace the Koh-i-Noor diamond.
In addition to several musicians — including Elton John, the Spice Girls, Adele, Harry Styles and more — declining initiations to perform at the coronation concert, the Daily Mail reported in February that Prince Andrew, 63, will not have a ceremonial role in the coronation. The Duke of York, was stripped of his royal titles in January 2022 amid a sexual assault lawsuit and news of his connections to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Another source informed Us on April 13 that Prince Andrew’s ex-wife Sarah Feguson — with whom he shares daughters Princess Beatrice, 34, and Princess Eugenie, 33 — “did not” receive an invitation to the coronation. However, Us confirmed on April 19 that the Duchess of York, 63, would be attending the coronation concert.
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Meanwhile, the cost of the coronation has sparked backlash, as a report by the Centre for Economics and Business Research speculated that the event will cost the country millions of dollars.
