Last year’s Coronation of King Charles III cost taxpayers £72m, government figures have revealed.
Just over £50m was spent by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), which coordinated the event, while policing costs came to almost £22m, which were paid for by the Home Office.
The DCMS described the Coronation as a “once-in-a-generation” moment and the figures came broadly within unofficial estimates, which suggested it would be between £50 and £100m.
The Coronation in May 2023 had been described as a “slimmed down affair”, with the Westminster Abbey guest list only a quarter of the size of Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation at the same venue in 1953.
Being a state event, the Coronation was paid for by the UK Government and Buckingham Palace through the Sovereign Grant – which comes from a percentage of the profits of the Crown Estate revenue – and the Privy Purse, money from a private estate known as the Duchy of Lancaster.
By the end of March 2024, the Duchy of Lancaster had £647m of net assets under its control.
There had been criticism aimed at the public funding of the Coronation, which came during a cost-of-living crisis in the UK.
A poll carried out by YouGov the month before the Coronation revealed that 52% of Londoners did not believe the Coronation should be paid for by taxpayers.
There had been much speculation about the cost to the public purse, which the DCMS said could not be revealed until after the event.
The DCMS annual accounts report released on Thursday said the Coronation reached an estimated global audience of two billion people in 125 countries, saying it “offered a unique opportunity to celebrate and strengthen our national identity and showcase the UK to the world”.
King Charles was crowned at Westminster Abbey on 6 May 2023 in a ceremony attended by dignitaries from around the world.
The King’s youngest son, Prince Harry, flew in from California for the ceremony, but his wife Meghan and their two children did not join him.
Celebrity guests inside the Abbey included British acting royalty Emma Thompson, Judi Dench and Stephen Fry, as well as international stars such as US singers Lionel Richie and Katy Perry.
The Foreign Office said in total, 90 heads of state were in attendance, as well as the first ladies of the United States and Ukraine, representing the presidents of their respective countries.
Thousands of people packed the Mall in the rain to watch as the procession paraded through London.
A star-studded concert, featuring Perry, Richie and Take That, among others, took place at Windsor Castle the following night.
