King Charles III’s coronation takes place on Saturday, and the final touches are being put on celebration plans up and down the country. The official coronation ceremony will see the King and Queen Camilla parade through central London, before the official crowning at Westminster Abbey.
The final guest list – expected to be around 2,000 – is yet to be confirmed, but family and friends of the King and Queen, foreign monarchs, politicians, world leaders, celebrities, and everyday heroes will attend the service after the royals have arrived in procession from Buckingham Palace.
Thousands of people will flock to London to watch the procession, while millions more will tune in to watch the event on television. But while for many the coronation will represent a weekend of celebration, critics have questioned how much it will cost, particularly at a time of financial hardship.
How much will the Coronation cost?
The King’s coronation is set to cost many millions – and it falls to taxpayers to foot the bill. But with no budget revealed for the occasion, and the Government not commenting on the expected total cost, the amount of public funds due to be spent remains unknown. Some predictions suggest it could cost the nation between £50m-£100m.
Taking place amid the cost of living crisis facing the UK and against a backdrop of strikes by nurses, teachers, and other public servants over pay, the King’s coronation has been branded a waste of taxpayers’ money by critics.
More than half of Britons do not think it should be funded by the Government, a poll has suggested. The YouGov survey found 51 percent of adults believe the ceremony should not be funded by public money. Almost a third – 32 percent – said it should, while around 18 percent said they did not know.
“The Coronation is a slap in the face for people struggling with living crisis”
Graham Smith, chief executive of the anti-monarch campaign group Republic, said: Charles is already king. There is no need to go through with this expensive pantomime.
At a cost of tens of millions of pounds, this pointless piece of theatre is a slap in the face for millions of people struggling with the cost of living crisis.”
Graham Smith said
“People are not happy with the Coronation”
Labour’s Richard Burgon, MP for Leeds East, called for a House of Commons debate on the amount of public money being spent on the coronation given the difficult economic times.
The King has a reported personal fortune of £1.8bn, and given the monarch already benefits from not paying inheritance tax, it’s easy to see why so many people are not happy with this.”
Richard Burgon said.
As with jubilees and other such events, it is understood the total cost and breakdown of funding will not be available until after the 6 May event.
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Oliver Dowden, has insisted the King and the Government are “mindful of ensuring that there is value for the taxpayer” and there will not be “lavishness or excess”.
But Mr. Dowden also told the Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee at the start of the year: “It is a marvelous moment in our history and people would not want a dour scrimping and scraping.”
