How much the King’s coronation cost the UK tax payer revealed
The King’s coronation cost the UK taxpayer a whopping £72 million, official accounts have revealed.
This figure includes £50.3 million from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), which coordinated the event in May 2023 and £21.7 million from the Home Office for policing it.
Charles was crowned at Westminster Abbey in a ceremony attended by dignitaries from around the world.
A star-studded concert at Windsor Castle took place the following night.
The DCMS annual report and accounts said the department ‘successfully delivered on the central weekend of His Majesty King Charles III’s Coronation, enjoyed by many millions both in the UK and across the globe.’
The £72 million was still significantly lower than the £162 million it cost to hold Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral and events during the period of national mourning.
The coronation was described at the time as a ‘slimmed-down affair’ and accounts show an ‘underspend’ related to the coronation of around £2.8m.
DCMS insisted it was a ‘once-in-a-generation moment which provided an occasion for the entire country to come together in celebration, and offered a unique opportunity to celebrate and strengthen our national identity and showcase the UK to the world’.
There had been criticism at the public funding of the event at a time when the country was dealing with a cost of living crisis.
A YouGov poll a month before the Coronation showed 52% of Londoners did not believe the Coronation should be paid for by taxpayers.
Campaign group Republic called the Coronation a ‘pointless, archaic parade’, reports the BBC and said the money spent could have paid for free school meals.
Chief executive Graham Smith said: ‘At a time when so many people are struggling with the cost of living crisis, it is shameful that Charles insisted on this pointless extravaganza.’
There was hope the coronation would boost the economy but it actually contracted in the month of May 2023.
However, according to experts this was mostly down to the cost of introducing a public holiday for the event, Sky News reports.
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