More people tuned in to see Princess Diana laid to rest than Queen Elizabeth II according to rating reports.
Figures from coverage of Monday's state funeral for the Queen suggest that the 1997 burial drew a bigger crowd – as did the Euro 2020 final between England and Italy.
A report from the Broadcasters Audience Research Board (Barb) suggests 28.5m people in the UK tuned in to view the Queen’s funeral across the main channels of BBC One, BBC Two, ITV (or STV), Sky News and BBC News.
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In comparison 29.85m people tuned in to see Italy beat England on penalties last summer and 31m saw Princess Diana's funeral 25 years ago following her tragic car accident that shook the world.
However, the figures for the Queen’s state funeral may not be conclusive due to the number of channels and outlets airing the event – figures for viewers watching via streaming services such as BBC iPlayer, Sky Glass and ITV Hub were also not included.
Industry experts did predict the Queen's funeral would pull record viewing figures as a major historical event with some predicting it would exceed four billion worldwide.
Historian Dr Andrew Keil commented on the lower-than-predicted figures.
He said: "Interesting comparison to audiences for the EURO2020 final," he noted. "Also means that only about less than half of the UK population tuned in [when there was hardly any alternative thing to do than watch the state funeral]."
Meanwhile, SNP strategist Ross Colquhoun suggested that figures were a result of changes in media consumption.
He said: "I guess it shows how people have changed how they consume news, Diana's funeral was viewed by around 32.1 million."
Barb is owned by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, BSkyB and the IPA, and helps broadcasters to deliver their ratings, having worked with the industry for 30 years to help monitor viewers' behaviour.
Barb electronically monitor a panel of 5100 homes that are representative of the UK population to build a picture of what is being watched.
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