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Why King Charles III's coronation received over 8,000 Ofcom complaints

why charles' coronation received over 8,000 ofcom complaints
Why coronation got over 8,000 Ofcom complaintsMax Mumby/Indigo - Getty Images

Approximately 20 million people across the UK tuned in to watch King Charles III's coronation earlier this month, but it seems not everyone was happy with what they saw.

Ofcom – the UK's regulator for communications services including TV, radio, broadband and phone services – has revealed it received 8,389 complaints in relation to the coronation, which took place on Saturday 6 May, with televised events spanning the whole bank holiday weekend.

As for what's behind the complaints, a spokesperson for Ofcom confirmed to Cosmopolitan UK that the majority of complaints were in regards to comments made by Bridgerton's Adjoa Andoh during coverage of the historic event.

ICYMI, Andoh – who plays Lady Danbury in the Netflix hit, and its spinoff, Queen Charlotte – made a comment about how the Buckingham Palace balcony appearance was "terribly white".

"We have gone from the rich diversity of the Abbey to a terribly white balcony," Andoh said to ITV presenters Tom Bradby and Julie Etchingham during a live segment. Her comments quickly sparked backlash online, but Andoh later said she "didn't mean to upset anyone".

"I think I upset a few people yesterday," she said on BBC Radio 4 the day after the coronation. "I was talking about the day and how marvellous it was and then looking at the balcony at the end and suddenly going: 'Oh it's so white!' because the day had been so mixed."

why charles' coronation received over 8,000 ofcom complaints
David M. Benett - Getty Images

Other reports suggest that some complaints made to Ofcom were in regards to Prince Andrew's presence at the coronation and therefore, on TV screens. Some complaints were also made over the "non-stop" coverage across numerous channels. The coronation service was broadcast live on BBC One, BBC Two and BBC iPlayer from 7:30am on Saturday, while the subsequent celebrations and procession aired from 1pm on both BBC One and BBC Two.

Similarly, ITV's coverage of the day cracked off at 6am, with a special one-off edition of Good Morning Britain. This was followed by six and a half hours of live, uninterrupted coverage on ITV1 and ITVX. Channel 4, however, did not schedule any coronation content on the day, with execs for the channel saying they wanted to: "Provide an escape from the pomp and ceremony elsewhere."

Explaining what it does with complaints, the Ofcom website says: "Ofcom receives thousands of complaints from viewers and listeners every year about standards on TV and radio. We assess each complaint carefully to see if our rules may have been broken."

Complaints are then either closed, if they don't "raise issues warranting further investigation", or will be escalated to an investigation. "An investigation is a formal process which can take some time depending on the complexity of the issues involved," the website notes.

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