How to Watch the King’s Coronation in Australia

Months after the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, it’s finally time to crown a new British monarch. Charles III will officially become King after his coronation takes place this weekend in the UK. If you’re hoping to tune in from Australia, there are a few ways you can do that.

When is the coronation?

King Charles’ coronation is set for Saturday, May 6, from 11:oo am – 1:00 pm at Westminster Abbey in London. In Australia, that translates to:

• 8:00 pm – 10:00 pm AEST
• 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm ACST
• 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm AWST

How to watch the coronation in Australia

King Charles’ coronation will be available to watch on free-to-air and streaming platforms.

The ABC will begin covering the coronation from 5:00 pm AEST, through to the actual service at 8:00 pm, followed by the procession from Westminster Abbey at 10:00 pm. This will be available to watch on ABC’s live stream as well.

As for streaming platforms, BritBox will be live-streaming ITN’s coverage of the coronation and will also have it available for on-demand replays. BritBox is also adding a number of specials to its platform, such as Good Morning Britain’s coronation coverage and the short form series Countdown to the Crown: The Who’s Who and What’s What of the Coronation.

What will happen during the ceremony?

Coronations are a long-standing tradition in the UK, but given the cost of living crisis going on right now, Charles’ event will be pared down (guess we’ll see what the royal definition of pared down is) compared to his mother’s coronation 70 years ago.

According to the UK Parliament website, this is what we can expect from the actual event:

The contemporary form of the coronation dates from 1902, when King Edward VII was crowned. It consists of a state procession from Buckingham Palace to the Abbey, another procession inside, the Recognition, the Anointing, the Coronation Oath, the Homage and finally another procession from the Abbey back to the Palace.

From there, the celebrations will continue in the UK, with a bank holiday on May 8, whereas we won’t see a public holiday for the coronation here in Australia.