The national mourning period and funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in the UK last September cost British taxpayers £161.7 million (€186 million), according to Treasury figures released on Thursday.
After the sovereign’s death at the age of 96 at her Scottish castle of Balmoral on September 8, her coffin was taken to Edinburgh, before being displayed to the public at Westminster Hall, Britain’s oldest parliament building, for five days.
Hundreds of thousands of people flocked to pay their respects.
The state funeral was then held on 19 September at Westminster Abbey in London, in front of 2,000 guests including hundreds of foreign dignitaries and leaders, and then at Windsor, where the queen is laid to rest alongside her husband Prince Philip.
According to a written statement to Parliament by Chief Secretary to the Treasury John Glen, the total cost is estimated at £161.743 million.
“The government’s priority was for these events to run smoothly… while ensuring the safety of the public”, he stressed.
The biggest bill fell to the Home Office, at £73.68 million (almost €85 million). Thousands of police officers had been deployed across the UK during the 10 days of national mourning.
Credit: Belga
The Department for Culture and Media came next, with £57.42 million (€66.2 million), ahead of the Scottish Government (£18.75 million, or €21.6 million).
Related News
No official figure has yet been released for King Charles’ coronation on 6 May, but the anti-monarchy group Republic estimated it would cost at least £100 million (€115 million).
The bill is largely footed by British taxpayers, who are in the grip of a severe cost-of-living crisis as inflation rises above 10%.
