Anti-monarchy group claims millions of people will skip King Charles coronation coverage

Republic, an antimonarch group has claimed that just 300 million people are expected to watch the coronation of King Charles.

The coronation is due to take place on 6tg, with the group set to hold protests in the UK.

The group's CEO Graham Smith said: "Global viewing figures are always difficult to measure."

"But to suggest the Coronation would attract even half a billion does not stand up to scrutiny."

He added: "All the available evidence suggests that global interest, while high in certain places, is generally far lower than for sporting or other major national events.

"Olympic opening ceremonies and the first inauguration of President Obama are among those events that are likely to have had larger global audiences, with good reason.

It's really important we get a clear and accurate picture of interest in the monarchy and their set-piece events, as these nonsense figures only mislead the public and distort the debate on the monarchy."

Smith said analysis suggests global viewing figures are expected to be between one hundred and three hundred million, which he says will mean 7.7bn and 7.8bn will "ignore the event".