Queen Elizabeth II was laid to rest in the King George VI Memorial Chapel at Windsor Castle on Monday night, and the state funeral for Britain’s longest-serving monarch has become one of the UK’s biggest television events. United.
According to official figures, more than 50 British channels broadcast the service in London’s Westminster Abbey, with television audiences on the three main networks – BBC One, BBC Two and ITV – peaking at around 28 million. of people.
The peak occurred when the coffin of the queen left the abbey and toured the streets of the British capital. However, the figure does not include viewers who followed the event through streaming services such as BBC iPlayer and ITV Player.
By comparison, Princess Diana’s funeral in September 1997 had more than 32 million viewers in the UK.
The royal family paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth on social media after her burial in Windsor.
Alongside a photo of the late monarch, the family said: “‘May the flights of angels sing to you until you rest.’ In memory of Her Majesty the Queen. 1926 – 2022.”
The quote in the Twitter post was taken from ‘Hamlet’ by William Shakespeare. In the tragedy, Horace holds his dying friend in his arms and pays homage to the prince of Denmark, saying: “Now a noble heart creaks. Good night, sweet prince, may the flights of angels sing to you until your rest.”
King Charles made reference to the famous phrase during his television speech after the queen’s death on September 8.
The 73-year-old monarch then said: “We owe her the deepest debt that any family can have with her mother; for her love, her affection, her guidance, her understanding and her example. To my dear mom, at the beginning On your last great trip to reunite with my dear late dad, I just want to say this: Thank you. Thank you for your love and devotion to our family and the family of nations that you have served so diligently all these years. ‘May the flights of the angels sing to you until your rest'”.