Queen Elizabeth II: Funeral cost government £162m

Queen Elizabeth II‘s funeral and related events cost the government an estimated £162m, the Treasury has said.

The state funeral, held on 19 September 2022, followed a period of national mourning.

During that time hundreds of thousands of people visited Westminster where the monarch was lying in state.

The biggest costs were covered by the Home Office (£74m) and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (£57m).

The estimated costs, published by the Treasury, have to do with the Queen’s funeral and other related events including the monarch’s lying-in-state.

John Glen, chief secretary to the Treasury, said the government’s priority at the time had been to make sure “these events ran smoothly and with the appropriate level of dignity, while at all times ensuring the safety and security of the public”.

In a written ministerial statement made to Parliament, Mr Glen said the Treasury had provided additional funding where necessary and the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland governments were “fully” refunded for their respective costs.

The estimated costs include:

Department for Culture, Media & Sport – £57.42m

Department for Transport – £2.565m

Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office – £2.096m

Home Office – £73.68m

Ministry of Defence – £2.890m

Northern Ireland Office – £2.134m

Scottish Government – £18.756m

Welsh Government – £2.202m

Total – £161.743m

After Queen Elizabeth II died on 8 September 2022 aged 96, the UK started 10 days of national mourning.

The late Queen’s coffin was laid to rest in St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh for 24 hours, before the monarch was transported to Westminster Abbey in London where thousands of mourners queued for hours to pay their respects.

People lined up in London at all hours of the day, often in chilly temperatures, to pay their respects – including David Beckham.

The wait time at one stage was estimated to be more than 24 hours; and the queue snaked from Westminster Hall, down along the River Thames and stretched south for almost seven miles (11km).

The scale of the state funeral and mourning arrangements led to what police described at the time as “probably the biggest operation we’re likely to launch in the UK”.

Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin being carried out of Westminster Abbey

World leaders and foreign royalty joined the Royal Family for the state funeral at Westminster Abbey.

Members of the 2,000-strong congregation included the Queen’s great-grandchildren, the prime minister at the time Liz Truss and US President Joe Biden and his wife Jill.

The event was watched by millions of people across the country and around the world.

It was the first state funeral since Sir Winston Churchill’s in 1965 and the biggest ceremonial event since World War Two.

After the funeral, the Queen’s coffin travelled in a procession to Wellington Arch and then on to its final journey to Windsor Castle and a committal service.

Queen Elizabeth II’s death was followed by 10 days of national mourning

The cost was used to facilitate the smooth running of the event and ensure mourners from the UK and across the world could visit and take part safely, Downing Street has said.

“Of course, a major international event of this scale, we wanted to ensure that we could enable people to pay their respects,” a No 10 spokesman added.

Source: BBC