Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral is to be held in Westminister Abbey on Monday, September 19 from 8pm AEST (11am London time). Coverage will be shown on ABC TV and iview, Channel Nine and 9Now, Channel Seven and 7Plus, and Channel 10 and 10 Play.
Ads will take a back seat with commercial broadcasters running ad-free coverage of the event Monday night Australian time. That is fine with marketers who feel it appropriate to be off air during the Queen’s final farewell.
In addition to Australian-based broadcasters calling on their teams in the UK, global news channels Sky News UK, BBC and CNN will all mount significant coverage.
Around 2,000 people will be attending the state funeral which is the first one to be held in the UK since Winston Churchill’s funeral in 1965. Among the attendees will be members of the royal family, world leaders including Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, US President Joe Biden and guests from Commonwealth nations.
The one-hour service will be conducted by the Dean of Westminster, David Hoyle. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, will give a sermon and the commendation before the dean proclaims the blessing.
Queen’s Funeral on Seven
Seven is promising viewers unrivalled commercial-free coverage of the Queen’s state funeral from 7.00pm AEST.
Hosts Michael Usher, David Koch and Natalie Barr will anchor Seven’s special broadcast from key vantage points throughout London, including Buckingham Palace, Westminster Hall and Westminster Abbey.
Royal experts will contribute to Seven’s coverage, headed by the BBC’s acclaimed 30-year chief royal correspondent Angela Rippon CBE, London’s top Palace Insider, Victoria Arbiter, and Sunrise’s royal editor, King Charles III biographer and close friend, Rob Jobson.
Queen’s Funeral on Nine
Nine’s rolling coverage of the momentous began in front of Buckingham Palace at 5.00am Monday with Today hosted by Karl Stefanovic and Allison Langdon.
At 3.00pm Tracy Grimshaw, Peter Overton, Karl Stefanovic and Allison Langdon will lead NIne’s coverage from Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and across the UK as the country wakes up on this historic day.
Earlier this week, Mediaweek spoke to Nine’s head of news and current affairs, Darren Wick about how he was quickly able to supplement the UK news personnel late last week.
“This is an event we have had a long time to prepare for. Last week it came down to getting people on flights which is a harder process in a post-Covid world,” he said.
“People we are sending over include Allison Langdon for Today and Tracey Grimshaw for A Current Affair. Karl Stefanovic is also making his way to London.”
“Nine will utilise BBC coverage to supplement what it will produce itself. We will have our own people with our unique coverage from all over the UK. For the funeral itself, we will take the BBC broadcast.”
In addition to on-air reports and hosts, Nine has also flown in camera operators, satellite techs and producers.
“There is a big machine that works behind the scenes on something like this,” said Wick.
Queen’s Funeral on 10
While 10 will cover the lead-up to the funeral on the primary channel, the actual service will be live on 10 Bold on 10 Play.
The special broadcast will begin at 5pm Monday with 10 News First on 10, with presenters Sandra Sully and Jennifer Keyte reporting live from London.
The Project will follow from 6.30pm with Carrie Bickmore, Waleed Aly and Hamish Macdonald on the desk, and crossing live to Lisa Wilkinson in London. An extended 90-minute broadcast of The Project will be simulcast live into all markets from 6.30pm AEST on 10 Bold.
The State Funeral for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will commence live at 8pm AEST on 10 Bold and 10 Play.
Queens Funeral: Live coverage all day on Sky News
Sky News commemorative coverage of The Queen’s Funeral began at 5.30am AEST hosted by Peter Stefanovic and Annelise Nielsen live from Buckingham Palace. Sky News reporter Jonathan Lea will be on the ground in London with updates on the final hours of The Queen’s public farewell as hundreds and thousands of people pay their respects while the late monarch lies in state at Westminster Hall.
At 10.00am AEST, chief news anchor Kieran Gilbert will lead coverage from Canberra, with the latest local and international news updates ahead of The Queen’s State Funeral Service at Westminster Abbey.
From 2.00pm AEST as London wakes, Laura Jayes will host the commemorative coverage as The Queen’s lying-in-state ends and preparations commence for the historic procession from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey, marking the first time a British monarch’s funeral has been hosted at Westminster Abbey since 1760.
Peter Stefanovic and Laura Jayes in London this week
From 4.00pm AEST Peta Credlin and Paul Murray host The Queen’s Funeral live from London, with Peter Stefanovic on the ground at Westminster Abbey as members of the royal family, dignitaries, and heads of state from around the world including US President Joe Biden and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, begin to arrive to honour the life and service of Queen Elizabeth II.
From 6.00pm AEST coverage will be live and commercial-free.
The State Funeral Service for Queen Elizabeth II will commence at 8.00pm AEST.
Following the State Funeral there will be a procession from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Arch. From Wellington Arch, the funeral proceedings transfer to Windsor where Queen Elizabeth II will be interred at King George VI Memorial Chapel, following a committal service at St George’s Chapel.
ABC’s Michael Rowland in London this week
Queen’s Funeral on ABC
The ABC will take audiences live to Westminster Abbey in London on Monday 19 September with coverage on ABC News, ABC TV and ABC Local Radio of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.
On ABC TV and ABC News our live coverage begins at 5.00pm AEST, with a special one-hour news event hosted by Jeremy Fernandez who will be joined by our team in London – Lisa Millar, Michael Rowland, Isabella Higgins and Nick Dole.
From 6.00pm, ABC News and ABC TV will broadcast the BBC’s coverage of official arrivals at Westminster Abbey, followed by the funeral proceedings.
Normal programming on ABC TV and ABC News will be suspended from 5.00pm AEST for the eight-hour duration of the broadcast with the exception of an ABC news bulletin on ABC TV at 7.00pm in eastern states, 6.30pm in SA/NT and no local bulletin in WA.
On ABC Radio, ABC Brisbane Evenings presenter, Kelly Higgins-Devine will anchor a national one-hour special at 7.00pm AEST covering the events leading up to the funeral proceedings, with Virginia Trioli, Raf Epstein and Richard Glover providing insights live from London.
From 8.00pm AEST our local radio network will also broadcast the BBC’s coverage of the Queen’s funeral for the duration of the service.
On Thursday 22 September during the National Day of Mourning, ABC TV, ABC News and ABC Local Radio will cover the memorial service for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II live from Parliament House in Canberra from 11.00am AEST.
Audiences can find up to date royal coverage including a live blog covering events at https://www.abc.net.au/news/queen-elizabeth-ii/
ABC iview has a collection of news coverage and special programming dedicated to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at https://www.abc.net.au/QueenElizabethII
BBC coverage of The State Funeral of Her Majesty The Queen TV and radio
The BBC will be providing full coverage of The State Funeral of Her Majesty The Queen across BBC World News on television, plus special BBC coverage on radio, iPlayer and BBC Sounds. Some Australian broadcasters will access the BBC coverage at different times.
Coverage on BBC television will be led by Huw Edwards, Kirsty Young, Fergal Keane, David Dimbleby and Sophie Raworth.
Huw Edwards and Fergal Keane will be covering events from London, Kirsty Young and David Dimbleby will be in Windsor, Sophie Raworth will be at Parliament Square, Anita Rani at the Long Walk at Windsor and JJ Chalmers at Wellington Barracks.
For BBC radio audiences, a special programme presented by Martha Kearney will capture the key events in London and Windsor.
Allan Little will be inside Westminster Abbey, with analysis from Royal Correspondent Jonny Dymond and commentary from different points along the procession route from Ken Bruce, Mishal Husain, Emma Barnett, Clive Myrie, Adele Roberts, John Murray, Mike Costello, Rachel Burden, Nuala McGovern, Chris Mason, Jamie Coomarasamy, Andrea Catherwood and James Naughtie.
Eleanor Oldroyd will be inside St George’s Chapel, with commentary from different points along the procession route from Naga Munchetty, Paddy O’Connell, Alistair Bruce-Ball, Julian Worricker, Anna Foster and Tony Livesey.
The special programme will be simulcast on BBC Sounds, BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Radio Wales and BBC Radio Scotland between 0900 – 1330 and 1430 – 1700.
BBC World Service English will broadcast the Procession, the State Funeral Service and the Committal Service.
The two-minute silence during the State Funeral Service will be observed across all live stations.