U.K. Royal Wedding Draws 22.8 Million Television Viewers on U.S. Networks

The wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton was seen by a U.S. television audience of 22.8 million viewers on channels including Comcast Corp. (CMCSA)’s NBC and Walt Disney Co.’s ABC networks.

Viewers also tuned in for processions and other events surrounding the ceremony on April 29 at Westminster Abbey in London, according to data provided yesterday by Nielsen Co. The wedding coverage was carried live from 6 a.m. to 7:15 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on 11 networks, it said.

Worldwide, an estimated 2 billion were expected to have watched the events unfold on TV, U.K. Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt said in early April. The celebrations were the U.K.’s biggest royal event since the 1997 funeral of William’s mother, Diana, who died in a car crash in Paris. Diana’s marriage to Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, had ended in divorce.

About 18.6 million homes watched the royal wedding, more than the 14.2 million who tuned in for the wedding of Charles and Diana in 1981, Nielsen said. Diana’s funeral in 1997 drew 26.1 million households, the TV rating company said.

Kate, dressed in a gown by Alexander McQueen designer Sarah Burton, and the prince, in red military uniform, made their vows after driving separately through flag-waving, cheering crowds.

After the ceremony, the couple drove in an open state landau carriage to Buckingham Palace, the royal residence, where a crowd estimated at 500,000 by the Metropolitan Police watched William and Kate emerge on the balcony and kiss.

‘JU5T WED’

Later the couple drove away from Buckingham Palace in an open-topped Aston Martin festooned with balloons and with a license plate that read “JU5T WED.” William was at the wheel and Kate in the passenger seat. Both waved to the crowds.

During the service, William gave Kate a gold wedding ring made by a family-owned London-based jeweler, Wartski, from a piece of Welsh gold presented to him by the queen after the engagement was announced last year. He will not wear a ring.

It was the 16th royal wedding at the 1,000-year-old abbey, and the service was conducted by the Dean of Westminster, John Hall, and Chartres. The wedding ceremony was led by the senior cleric in the Church of England, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams.

Those attending the wedding included more than 40 foreign royals such as Queen Margrethe of Denmark. Also in the abbey were members of both families, and friends and acquaintances of the couple, including soccer player David Beckham and his wife Victoria and Elton John, who sang at Diana’s funeral.

Outside Royalty

Kate, who will now be known as Princess William of Wales, is the first woman from outside royalty or the aristocracy to marry so close to the throne for 350 years. When William becomes Britain’s monarch, she will be queen. Queen Elizabeth II, William’s grandmother, announced yesterday the couple will be given the titles of Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

William, 28, who as monarch will command Britain’s military, wore the uniform of a colonel of the Irish Guards regiment, his senior honorary appointment in the army. He is a flight lieutenant in the Royal Air Force, based in north Wales, and could also have worn a naval uniform. His brother Prince Harry, who was best man and has fought in Afghanistan, wore the uniform of a captain of the Household Cavalry.

The Super Bowl in February had 53.3 million households or 111 million viewers, while 28.9 million homes or 37.8 million people watched U.S. President Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration, Nielsen said in the statement.

To contact the reporters on this story: Andy Fixmer in Los Angeles at afixmer@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net

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