The Treasury has just revealed the eye-watering nine-figure number that the taxpayer spent on the Queen’s State Funeral back in September.
Nearly eight months after she was laid to rest and days after her successor King Charles was crowned in another ornate ceremony, the government has revealed that the event – and her lying-in-state – cost the taxpayer £161.743m.
The bulk of this (£73.86m) went to the home office, with substantial amounts also going to the culture, media and sport department and the Scottish government.
The cost of living crisis was already well underway at the time of the state event, with inflation at a 40-year-high.
And while it was considered a large cultural moment for the UK for many people, as the Queen spent 70 years on the throne, the event was also criticised for being a very lavish affair at a time of heightened economic hardship.
So here’s a look at the cost of the event in comparison to some other key expenses:
The Queen’s funeral cost more than:
1. The three-day junior doctors’ strike in March – The Independent reported that internal estimates from the NHS and Department for Health and Social Care calculated the three-day strike to cost between £66m and £92m.
2. Afghanistan humanitarian aid – the UK is giving £100m to Afghanistan in 2023/24, according to the Independent Commission for Aid Impact.
3. Sudan humanitarian aid – the UK is offering £5m, to help those fleeing the violence in the country.
4. The government donated to the UN and Red Cross Agency for defence for Ukraine – that cost £145m.
5. Support for Ukrainian refugees in local authorities – the government is offering £150m for the 2023/24 financial year to local authorities and devolved government.
6. Government spending on hotels for refugees – The government complains regularly about the cost of accommodating asylum seekers, which comes to £5.6m.
7. King Charles’s coronation – early estimates suggest the crowning cost between £50m and £100m.
8. The running of the NHS Covid-19 app – that cost an estimated £35m.
9. Wales failed to spend at the height of the pandemic in 2021 – the Welsh government failed to spend £155.5m of its annual funding in time and had to hand it back to Downing Street.
10. The average Brit earns in a lifetime – AtomBank found the average Brit in 2021 will earn £1.35m. By 2071, inflation would turn that into £19m.
What else cost roughly £162m?
The government’s funds for regeneration – Westminster put £161m aside or projects in cities across England as part of a levelling up package in the Budget.
Octopus Energy’s reported losses in a whole fiscal year – The energy retailer said it lost £161m because it absorbed extra costs meant to be passed onto the customer amid the soaring wholesale energy prices.
Other numbers to take into consideration:
Charles’s inheritance – Forbes claims the King inherited at least $500m (£400m) from the Queen, without having to pay inheritance tax.
Charles’s private fortune – The Guardian claimed his inherited assets and estate comes to a whopping total of £1.8 bn, although this was disputed by the King’s spokesperson. The Times reported that his personal net worth works out to be closer to £600m.