According to a statement issued by the Treasury on Thursday, May 18, the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II cost the United Kingdom approximately £162 million ($201.4 million).
The longest running British monarch’s funeral is reported to have cost the British government £162 million. Apparently, the exact amount was $204 million (£161.7 million) on Queen Elizabeth’s state funeral and related events. The funeral was conducted at Westminster Abbey on September 18, 2022, following a 10-day period of national mourning.
During the mourning period, an estimated 250,000 members of the public witnessed the British monarch lying in state in London, with many waiting in queue for more than 24 hours.
The parliament’s finance minister John Glen broke down the cost revealing that the interior ministry, responsible for policing, and security cost £73.7m. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport £57.4m, and the Scottish government were paid £18.8m.
“The death of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on 8 September 2022 and the period of national mourning that followed was a moment of huge national significance,” Glen said per AP News.
“The government’s priorities were that these events ran smoothly and with the appropriate level of dignity, while at all times ensuring the safety and security of the public,” he added.
The state funeral was witnessed by world leaders and dignitaries after 10 days of national mourning following the queen’s death on September 8 at the age of 96, after 70 years on the throne. Prince Philip and Elizabeth were both interred at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.
The state funeral of the Queen was the first to be held in the United Kingdom since that of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill in 1965. State funerals are a public ceremony performed to honour a person of national significance and are conducted according to strict rules of protocol. However, neither the Queen Mother nor Prince Philip had state funerals, and their funerals were described as being more ceremonial.
Social Media reactions
Since it was announced, the cost of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral has been a topic of discussion. Many took to social media to express their views on how the funds could have been put to better use. One person took to Twitter to express that the Queen’s funeral and King Charles’s coronation combined cost more that the UK government has ever spent to combat homelessness.
