RTE and the Coronation of King Charles III: Irish broadcaster reveals how many viewers tuned in to watch crowning of monarch

It added that additional viewers - an unspecified number - also watched coverage on the RTÉ News channel.

With a population of 5.1m, that could mean that around 10% of the population of the south tuned in to watch the event at some point.

RTE said that an an average of 113,000 viewers watched RTÉ's cover throughout the four hour broadcast.

Last week Taoiseach Leo Varadkar urged respect for those who support the monarchy, with two Irish opposition parliamentarians questioning the time RTE was devoting to the coronation.

Paul Murphy and Richard Boyd Barrett from People Before Profit-Solidarity both raised concerns about the length of the coverage in the Dail.

Mr Murphy branded the monarchy an institution built on “racism, privilege and empire” and claimed the coronation was a “very obvious attempt to rehabilitate that institution”.

However RTE firmly defended the news value of the event.

"The coronation of Britain's King Charles is a global news story, being attended by world leaders,” a spokeswoman told the News Letter.

“RTÉ will be providing live coverage to viewers, adding context and analysing the significance of this event for the UK and the impact it may or may not have on this island.”

"The coronation of Britain's King Charles is a global news story, being attended by world leaders,” a spokeswoman told the News Letter.

“RTÉ will be providing live coverage to viewers, adding context and analysing the significance of this event for the UK and the impact it may or may not have on this island. The live coverage, during an off-peak time in the TV schedule this Saturday morning, is being supplied from a world TV feed of the event free of charge."