Tomorrow, King Charles III will become the 40th Monarch of the United Kingdom to be crowned at Westminster Abbey. This will be the first UK coronation in 70 years and yet not everyone is that fussed.
Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation was ground-breaking in that it was the first to be televised. It was watched by 27 million people in the UK alone and millions more audiences around the world. 11 million listened on the radio. These figures aren’t including all those who didn’t have access to a TV or Radio.
There will be no problem with accessing the coronation tomorrow with it expected to be streamed on BBC One, Two, Three, IPlayer, ITV and Sky. As well as this it can almost be guaranteed that it will be all over social media. However, the real question is are people bothered?
For me, I feel that I should be watching it. It’s a historic day and ultimately an excuse to get together with some friends and have a party.
Especially for those heading to London, there will be a guaranteed atmosphere.
YouGov created a survey to try and establish “where does public opinion stand on the monarchy ahead of the coronation” and it’s safe to say the difference in generational response was huge.
When asked “Do Britons think the monarchy is good for the country,” 32% of young people said yes compared to 77% of older Britons. Similarly, 70% of over 65s believe the royal family is good value for money compared to 37% of young people.
Leading up to the coronation, this data would suggest that young people will be far less likely to care.
What about Students?
By young people, it is important to clarify that I mean young adults. Students, for example.
King Charles III has certainly caused controversy. The York Tab asked 11,169 students whether they will be watching the coronation. 2,318 (21%) said yes whilst 8.851 (79%) said no.
Intrigued by this, I spoke to a second-year Univesity student to get their view on it all:
Are you excited about the Coronation of King Charles III?
Yes, I am excited actually. It is a rare and major event so it would feel wrong to be completely ignoring it. I will be watching it with my girlfriend and her friends at home with a Sunday Roast. Very patriotic of me, I guess!
Do you feel the coronation is an important event? Should everyone be watching?
I feel it is important but mostly because it is so unusual. I can understand people having no interest for the outdated illogical system, especially given the length of the event.
Do you feel the Royal family is important?
It’s a very British tradition but it has little logical reasoning to exist other than for purely traditions sake.
Why do you think that people have lost interest generally in the monarchy and in turn the coronation?
Perhaps due to the inherently unequal system. Or for the undemocratic nature of the system. I think some people have also lost interest due to the recent Harry and Meghan dramas.
The distinction between the Royal Family generally and the Coronation as an event is interesting. It seems the novelty and unknown of Saturday’s events are still keeping people interested.
In the current Cost of Living Crisis, many people are critiquing just how much money is set to be spent on the weekend. The Royal Palace refuse to give an exact figure however estimates place it between 50 and 100 million pounds. King Charles III’s coronationin was funded by the UK government. Effectively then, it is funded by the UK taxpayer. In such a tough financial time, should we have to be paying for such an extravgant event?
I guess either way it’s an excuse for a party- whatever you end up doing I hope you enjoy it!
