Talk about a hefty bill. When the late Queen ElizabethII passed away, it reportedly cost the British government the equivalent of $200 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 itself was held on September 19 and was followed by multiple events and a period of national mourning. The period also included a lying-in-state at London’s Westminster Hall which allowed the public to bid farewell to the Queen in person.
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.
While the Queen made history as the longest standing monarch for 70 years and being a pivotal figure in the British monarch, many took to social media to question the excessive cost of her farewell considering how the funds could have been used to aid those in need.
Social Media Reacts To Queen’s Funeral Bill
Upon learning the hefty cost of the Queen’s farewell, 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.
Others compared the cost to the news that Beyoncé and Jay Z just bought a home costing the same as the funeral!
While some chimed in to add that the United States has similarly spent millions on Presidential inaugurations and funerals. #Socialites what do you think?