Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: The tower destroyed by the Israeli occupation in Gaza includes media offices, including Al Mayadeen's bureau.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: Four fetuses and three premature babies died at Nasser Medical Complex due to malnutrition
Lebanese Ministry of Health: One person was killed in an Israeli airstrike on a car in the town of Burj Qalawieh, south Lebanon.
Al Mayadeen correspondent: The first ship of the Maghreb fleet delivering aid to break the siege on Gaza departs from the port of Gammarth in Tunisia.
Channel 12: Airspace closed at Ramon Airport due to fears of drone infiltration
IOF Spokesperson: Sirens sounded over an aircraft infiltration in the Bir Ora area, and details are being examined
Drone infiltration sirens sound north of the Gulf of Aqaba
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: The Israeli occupation carried out five extremely violent raids on the western areas of Gaza City
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: The Israeli occupation carried out major bombings in the Gaza Strip, the most violent since October 7
Yemeni Armed Forces spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree: The missile force carried out a major operation using the Palestine 2 ballistic hypersonic missile, hitting several targets in occupied Yafa.

Queen Elizabeth’s funeral cost the public $200 million: Figures

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: The Guardian
  • 19 May 2023 00:07
  • 1 Shares
3 Min Read

The amount of money that was spent amid the huge economic crisis battering the United Kingdom was heavily criticized.

  • x
  • Queen Elizabeth II lies in state at the Palace of Westminster. (AP)
    Queen Elizabeth II lies in state at the Palace of Westminster. (AP)

The ceremonies commemorating Queen Elizabeth II's death last year cost the public around £161.7m ($200 million), as per Treasury estimates.

Following her death on September 8, last year, a 10-day period of national mourning was declared, culminating in the monarch's burial. Official viewership figures revealed that more than 29 million people in the UK watched the funeral on television, while around 250,000 individuals attended the ceremony.

Critics said the event's opulence was improper at a time when many people are struggling to meet basic requirements.

“There is an assumption that these things have to be done on this scale and that’s an assumption that needs to be questioned – particularly in the middle of a cost of living crisis,” the chief executive of Republic, Graham Smith, said as quoted by The Guardian.

On their part, government ministers have stated that the commemorations must reflect the event's national significance, to which Smith responded, “When people can’t put food on the table – even though they are in work – they would probably derive more from a hot meal” than from the grandeur surrounding the queen’s funeral.

The chief secretary to the Treasury, John Glen, gave out the anticipated cost of £161.7 million in a written submission to parliament.

The statement read: 

"The biggest spenders were the Home Office, which paid out £73.7m, followed by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which paid £57.4m, and the Scottish government, with costs of £18.8m. Glen broke down the cost to each department.

 

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: £57.4m
Department for Transport: £2.6m
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: £2.1m
Home Office: £73.7m
Ministry of Defence: £2.9m
Northern Ireland Office: £2.1m
Scottish Government: £18.8m
Welsh Government: £2.2m"

Related News

Millions of children in UK going hungry amid economic crisis

Will the idea of pan-Africanism survive migration, economic crises?

Glen stated that the expenses only comprised money spent explicitly on events “as opposed to costs that would have been incurred in any case."

He went on to say the Treasury had paid some of those costs – including “fully refunding the Scottish government, Welsh government, and Northern Ireland Office for their respective costs, which in turn they were able to repay to partners who also incurred costs”.

Glen stressed that the events were of “huge national significance," adding, “During this period, many hundreds of thousands of people came in person to pay their respects, at the lying at rest in Edinburgh, the lying in state in Westminster, as well as in London and Windsor for the state funeral on 19 September."

The funerals of Diana, Princess of Wales, and Queen Elizabeth, as well as the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, were the most costly state ceremonies in recent decades, according to FactCheck estimates, costing between £7m and £8.4m each.

Officials noted at the time that the logistics of the commemorations were comparable to organizing hundreds of state visits all at once. The Foreign Office deployed hundreds of people to the assignment, and the combination of security, diplomacy, etiquette, and logistics was widely considered the most complex piece of short-term planning to confront the diplomatic service since Churchill's burial.

The revelations came shortly after the crowning of Charles III as King and his wife Camilla as Queen-- an event that enraged some Britians who criticized the amount of money spent amid the huge economic crisis grappling the United Kingdom.

According to estimates, the coronation cost a staggering 250 million pounds ($314 million).

Read more: King Charles' net worth estimated at $745 million

  • economic crisis
  • Queen Elizabeth
  • King Charles III
  • coronation
  • UK

Most Read

The damaged building in the Katara neighborhood, Doha, Qatar, September 9, 2025 (Social media)

Hamas delegation survives Israeli assassination attempt in Qatar

  • Politics
  • 9 Sep 2025
Pro-"Israel" conservative Charlie Kirk shot during Utah speech

American far-right activist Charlie Kirk shot dead during Utah speech

  • US & Canada
  • 11 Sep 2025
Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza.

Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza

  • Politics
  • 12 Sep 2025
A screengrab from the ad played on Fox News. (X Screengrab)

Fox airs ad warning Trump not to let Netanyahu 'play' him on Gaza

  • US & Canada
  • 11 Sep 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Australia warned of deadly climate risks in landmark report
Environment

Millions at risk from rising seas, extreme heat in Australia: Report

DPRK leader Kim Jong Un inspects a new weapons factory in undisclosed location, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, August 31, 2025 (AP)
Politics

DPRK defies US, says nuclear state status 'permanently enshrined'

Soldier F faces trial over bloody Sunday killings after 53 years
Miscellaneous

British Soldier F faces trial over Bloody Sunday killings after 53 yrs

Pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrate at the University of Sydney to protest the Israel Hamas war, Wednesday, April 24, 2024 (AP)
Politics

Protest outside ABC decries media silence on Gaza journalist killings

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS