The royal wedding: Audience peaks with 13.1 million on BBC1

The royal wedding attracted a peak of more than 13 million viewers on BBC1.

Harry and Meghan’s big day was watched by a peak of 13.1 million on BBC1, just after 1pm.

ITV’s audience peaked with 3.6 million viewers, at a different time to BBC1, just after 2pm.

The combined average audience for BBC and ITV was around 11 million.

BBC’s coverage, led by Kirsty Young, Huw Edwards and Dermot O’Leary, attracted an average of 8.7 million viewers and a 63.9% share, between 9am and 2pm.

On ITV, coverage – which was fronted by Phillip Schofield and Julie Etchingham – averaged 2.5 million viewers and a 18.6% share between 9.25am and 3pm.

The five-minute audience peak on BBC1 is the biggest across all channels this year, the broadcaster said.

On BBC1, the FA Cup final averaged 6.7 million viewers and peaked at 8.7 million.

Charlotte Moore, director of BBC content, said: “BBC1 brought the nation together in their millions for a super Saturday to remember, combining the royal wedding with a peak audience of 13.1 million viewers and the FA Cup Final.”