Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding might have seemed like the event of the century, but they didn’t even have the most popular royal wedding on television. That honor went to Prince Charles when he married Lady Diana Spencer in 1981 and 750 million people watched worldwide.
When Prince Harry married the former Suits star Markle on May 19, Americans tuned in to see one of their own become royalty; the Brits, however, passed on the opportunity. They were far bigger fans of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s 2011 nuptials. According to Time, around 18 million people in the UK watched Prince Harry’s wedding, while for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding, there were 25 million viewers.
In America, 29 million people tuned in for Prince Harry’s wedding. Only 23 million people in the U.S. viewed Prince William’s wedding.
Even Queen Elizabeth’s son Prince Edward’s 1999 wedding attracted viewers, coming in hot at 14.8 million when he wed the current Duchess of Wessex at Westminster Abbey. That number included people who recorded the wedding and watched it within the week. Now, it’s highly unlikely someone would videotape a wedding, royal or not, especially when Hulu has it readily available for viewing forever.
