King Charles’s coronation will take place at Westminster Abbey on Saturday May 6. The King will be crowned alongside the Queen Consort by the Archbishop of Canterbury, and millions of well-wishers are expected to descend on central London to witness the historic event. An extra bank holiday on Monday May 8 has been approved to mark the occasion.

For viewers watching the Coronation at home, Britain’s main broadcasters – the BBC, ITV and Sky – will broadcast live from the ceremony. US television networks such as CNN and Fox News are also expected to report from the Abbey.

The BBC has confirmed that a host of its most established broadcasters will spearhead their Coronation coverage. On the day of the ceremony, Kirsty Young will broadcast from a studio at Buckingham Palace, Huw Edwards will provide commentary as the doors of Westminster Abbey open for the historic event, and Sophie Raworth will be outside the Abbey speaking to guests as they arrive.

Elsewhere on the BBC, JJ Chalmers will be speaking to members of the military present for the parade, Clare Balding will provide commentary for the ceremonial route, and Anita Rani will join the thousands of well-wishers gathered in the crowds around the Palace, the Mall and Abbey.

The BBC is offering a one-off dispensation of the licence fee (which usually costs £159 for an annual colour licence or £53.50 for the black and white alternative) for venues and community settings that do not usually require a TV Licence to broadcast the Coronation’s ceremonies across the weekend. According to the BBC, community settings included range from churches, town halls, community centres and libraries to residential streets across Britain, as well as commercial premises acting as community venues such as concert halls, performing arts venues, cinemas and shops. It also applies to outdoor venues which have the facilities to screen the event.

However, businesses or events that charge for food, beverages or entry are not covered by the licence fee dispensation.

How to watch the Coronation on TV

BBC

Channels across the BBC network (BBC One and Two and iPlayer) will broadcast a range of live footage from 7.30am on the morning of the ceremony, while there will be rolling radio coverage across Radio 2, Radio 4 and the BBC Sounds app.

The main Coronation ceremony on Saturday 6 will form the centrepiece of the national broadcaster’s live coverage, with Kirsty Young hosting live from a studio at Buckingham Palace and Huw Edwards providing commentary as the doors of Westminster Abbey open. On BBC Two, deaf viewers can access a fully signed version of the live coverage, while there will also be accessible coverage for people who are blind or partially sighted on Red Button, hosted by Petroc Trelawny.

On the airwaves, you can expect rolling coverage from BBC journalists including Martha Kearney, Mishal Husain, James Naughtie, Eleanor Oldroyd and Royal Correspondent Jonny Dymond.

The Coronation Concert, which will feature some of the world’s most exciting musical acts, dancers and a world-class orchestra (from US stars Katy Perry and Lionel Richie to Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli and homegrown boyband Take That), will be broadcast live on BBC One, BBC iPlayer, BBC Radio 2 and BBC Sounds from the grounds of Windsor Castle, on the East Lawn, at 8pm on May 7. 

Fans of veteran journalist and former Desert Island Discs presenter Kirsty Young – who presented some of the BBC’s most moving coverage of the late Queen’s funeral – will be delighted to learn that she will anchor the live broadcast of the special event from within the grounds of the Castle. Young said in a statement: “I’m very happy indeed to be part of the BBC’s Coronation coverage, as our cameras capture history in the making. Ceremony, spectacle and a right royal celebration – it’s got all the ingredients of a weekend worth watching.”

Elsewhere on the BBC during the Coronation concert, Clara Amfo and Jordan Banjo will be backstage with artists, while Zoe Ball and Dermot O’Leary will be chatting to performers and audience members for Radio 2.

Tim Davie, the BBC’s Director-General, said in a statement: “The BBC is very proud to bring landmark events and major historical moments to audiences across the UK and beyond. We will be delivering the full glory of the Coronation with all the quality, ambition and excellence that our teams are globally renowned for.”

ITV

The coronation will be broadcast on all regional iterations of ITV1 (from 8.30am), with rolling news coverage featured on ITV News, streaming on ITVX and across their social media platforms. 

Julie Etchingham and Tom Bradby, who presented the broadcaster’s coverage of the late Queen’s funeral, will take up the reigns for the Coronation, too.

Channel 4

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given its predominately younger audience, Channel 4 has announced plans to mark the Coronation in a different way to the BBC and ITV. Instead of live coverage of the ceremony or concert, the broadcaster will offer the following in the run-up to the event: Frankie Boyle’s Farewell to the Monarchy, in which the comedian asks whether the Royal Family has a place in the modern world; a Coronation special of The Windsors, with Harry Enfield reprising his role as King Charles; and Emily Maitlis presents Andrew – The Problem Prince, where she will discuss the 2019 Newsnight interview that sent shockwaves throughout the monarchy.

Channel 4’s Chief Content Officer, Ian Katz, said: “Channel 4 exists to provide viewers with an alternative, so as the nation is engulfed by pomp, circumstance and forelock-tugging, we’ll be offering a rather less reverential slate of programmes including Frankie Boyle’s case against the monarchy and the Windsors’ scabrous satirical take on the Coronation.”

Sky

Meanwhile, Sky’s coverage of the ceremony will be spearheaded by Alastair Bruce and Kay Burley, and will be broadcast on Sky News and Sky Showcase.