Revealed: The taxpayer bill for the King’s coronation

The coronation bill came in at $6.45 million under budget. Photo / Getty Images
UK government reveals ‘all efforts were made’ to keep cost of historic event to a minimum.
The King’s coronation cost British taxpayers £72 million ($154.68m), less than half the cost of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, the government has revealed.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) paid £50.3m, with a further £21.7m from the Home Office to cover policing.
By comparison, the late Queen’s state funeral in September 2022 cost £162m.
That included the lying in state and other events held across the UK during the period of national mourning.
The coronation came in at £3m ($6.45m) under budget.
A DCMS spokesman said: “In line with rules regulating the spending of taxpayers’ money, all efforts were made to keep costs to a minimum.
“The coronation was a historic state occasion that brought together millions of people across the country, the realms and the Commonwealth.
“It was an important diplomatic event and the biggest gathering of world leaders in a generation, putting Britain on a global stage and showcasing the best of British culture and creativity to the world.”
The cost was more than three times that of the £912,000 spent on the late Queen’s 1953 coronation, which is about £20.5m ($44m) in today’s money.
The King’s coronation was on a notably smaller scale than his mother’s, with 6000 fewer guests and a procession that stretched to only about 2km – a quarter of the length of the late Queen’s 8km celebratory journey.
However, Buckingham Palace swiftly rejected early claims that it would be a “cut-price” occasion in light of the cost-of-living crisis, insisting it would be a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle of “glorious” pomp and pageantry that would showcase “UK plc” on the global stage.
In the event, plans were scaled back to reduce costs, but not to the detriment of the required splendour. Royal sources said a huge effort went into striking the right balance between reflecting the economic downturn and the historic nature of the occasion.
The coronation was considered an opportunity to display the unique soft power of the royal family, bringing significant economic dividends, including a £350m boost to the hospitality sector and lifting the UK’s international prestige.
DCMS outlined the costs in its 2023-24 annual report published on Thursday. It described it as “a once-in-a-generation moment” that brought the country together in celebration and “offered a unique opportunity to celebrate and strengthen our national identity and showcase the UK to the world”.
The Coronation Big Lunch raised £14.4m for charity.
The department said the event had generated more than 100,000 news stories and reached an estimated global audience of 2 billion people in 125 countries.
Elsewhere in the report, it describes how nine leading British and British-based artists were commissioned to create “striking new artworks” in response to the coronation, reflecting on the King’s four priorities of youth, community, diversity and sustainability.