King Charles’s coronation will take place at Westminster Abbey on Saturday May 6. The King will be crowned alongside the Queen Consort by the Archbishop of Canterbury, and millions of well-wishers are expected to descend on central London to witness the historic event. An extra bank holiday on Monday May 8 has been approved to mark the occasion.

For viewers watching the Coronation at home, it is likely that Britain’s main broadcasters – the BBC, ITV and Sky – will broadcast live from the ceremony. US television networks such as CNN and Fox News are also expected to report from the Abbey.

Although broadcasters are yet to confirm which of its presenters will spearhead coronation coverage, it is likely that Huw Edwards will take the helm for the BBC. The Welsh journalist is reportedly on the cusp of signing a new deal with the BBC, following his leading role in the broadcaster’s coverage of the late Queen’s death in September of last year.

The BBC will suspend the licence fee as a one-off for the coronation, meaning that people wanting to watch the ceremony live – and businesses or communities wanting to screen the event, from inside pubs to village halls – will not require an active licence, which costs £159 for an annual colour licence and £53.50 for the black and white alternative. The temporary fee suspension will apply to live coverage on May 6, as well as the Coronation Concert at Windsor Castle on Sunday May 7.

How to watch the Coronation on TV

BBC

Channels across the BBC network (BBC One and Two and iPlayer) are expected to broadcast live from the ceremony, while radio coverage is expected on Radio 2, Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.

The Coronation Concert, which will feature some of the world’s most exciting musical acts, dancers and a world-class orchestra, will be broadcast live on BBC One, BBC iPlayer, BBC Radio 2 and BBC Sounds from the grounds of Windsor Castle on the evening of May 7.

Although it is likely that Huw Edwards will be anchoring the BBC's coverage, fans of veteran journalist and former Desert Island Discs presenter Kirsty Young – who presented some of the BBC's most moving coverage of the late Queen's funeral – will surely be keeping their fingers crossed that she plays a part in the ceremony's coverage.

ITV

The coronation will almost certainly be broadcast across all regional iterations of ITV1 across Britain, with rolling news coverage featured on ITV News, streaming on ITVX and over their social media platforms.

Tom Bradby and Julie Etchingham presented ITV's coverage of the late Queen's funeral, so they could be being lined up to host the coronation ceremony and the wider bank holiday weekend's royal celebrations, along with the broadcaster's Royal Editor Chris Ship.

Sky

The ceremony will almost certainly be broadcast on Sky News on TV, as well as on the broadcaster's YouTube and social media channels and website, with rolling news coverage expected throughout.

Presenters including Kay Burley, Kamali Melbourne and Anna Botting hosted Sky's coverage of the late Queen's funeral procession, so they are likely to be among the frontrunners to front the coverage of the coronation. Sky's Royal Events Commentator Alastair Bruce is also likely to feature in some way.

What to expect

It is likely that the Coronation of the King will be fully televised, although it is yet to be confirmed whether King Charles will become Britain's first monarch to be publicly anointed (a transparent canopy is reportedly being made for the ceremony).

Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation was the first to be televised on June 2 1953, at her own request. The ceremony initiated a rush for Britons to purchase their own television sets so they could watch it from home, and it was eventually watched by around 20 million people in private dwellings across the country.

This article is kept updated with the latest information