The state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II cost the U.K. government around £162 million ($201.4 million), the Treasury said on Thursday. The U.K.’s longest-serving monarch died on Sept. 8, 2022, aged 96, at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. A 10-day period of national mourning, during which most businesses and workplaces remained open but many events were canceled, was held ahead of her funeral in Westminster Abbey on Sept. 18. An estimated 250,000 members of the public saw the British queen lying in state in London during the mourning period, with many queuing in the streets of London for more than 24 hours. The Associated Press has the story:
Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral cost UK $200M
Newslooks- LONDON (AP)
Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral and lying-in-state last year cost Britain’s government an estimated 162 million pounds (around $200 million), the treasury said Thursday.
The state funeral for the late monarch, held on Sept. 19, was the first in the U.K. since that of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill in 1965.
The occasion, attended by world leaders and dignitaries, followed 10 days of national mourning after the queen died on Sept. 8 after 70 years on the throne.
Hundreds of thousands of people were drawn to Westminster Abbey to see the United Kingdom’s longest-serving monarch lying in state.
The costs were published Thursday as part of a written statement to Parliament.
“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,” said John Glen, chief secretary to the treasury, in a statement.
Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip, were both interred at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.
