Queen Elizabeth II's funeral cost £162m as full breakdown revealed

King Charles
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Cameron Walker

By Cameron Walker


Published: 18/05/2023

- 16:52

Updated: 18/05/2023

- 16:56

More than £73 million was spent on policing, security and other costs incurred by the Home Office

An estimated £161.7 million was spent on Queen Elizabeth II's funeral and surrounding events by UK Government departments, official HM Treasury figures show.

Between the late Queen's death on 8th September last year and her state funeral on 19th September, hundreds of thousands of people came in person to pay their respects at the Lying at Rest in Edinburgh, Lying-in-State in Westminster, and for the State Funeral in both London and Windsor.


More than £73 million was spent on policing, security and other costs incurred by the Home Office.

Viewing areas and a large screen for crowds to watch Queen Elizabeth's funeral were erected in Hyde Park during the national mourning periods.

King Charles

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This is expected to contribute to the estimated £57.4 million costs incurred by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport.

The Ministry of Defence, responsible for the ceremonial and funeral processions involving thousands of military personnel, incurred an estimated cost of £2.89 million.

John Glen MP, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said: "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".

More than £2.5 million was spent by the Department for Transport after an estimated one million people travelled to watch Queen Elizabeth II's funeral procession in person.

Her Late Majesty died at 15:10 on 8th September 2022 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland and laid at rest in Edinburgh's St Giles Cathedral before returning to London.

More than £18 million was spent by the Scottish Government, but this cost was fully refunded by the Treasury.

The Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Office were also refunded by the Treasury.

King Charles III travelled to every country in the United Kingdom in the days following his mother's death to attend services in her honour.

Queen Elizabeth II

PA

A spokesperson for HM Treasury said: "The death of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the state funeral that followed marked a major moment in world history.

"Many hundreds of thousands of people paid their respects across London, Edinburgh, Windsor and the wider UK to celebrate the life of Britain’s longest-serving monarch and thank her late Majesty for 70 years of public service to our country and the wider Commonwealth."

The Treasury is expected to publish estimated costs of The King's Coronation at a later date.

Buckingham Palace declined to comment.

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