Queen Elizabeth II: Funeral cost government £162m

Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral and related events cost the government an estimated £162m, the Treasury has said.

The state funeral, held on 19 September 2022, followed a period of national mourning.

During that time hundreds of thousands of people visited Westminster where the monarch was lying in state.

The biggest costs were covered by the Home Office (£74m) and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (£57m).

The estimated costs, published by the Treasury, relate to the Queen’s funeral and other related events including the monarch’s lying-in-state.

John Glen, chief secretary to the Treasury, said the government’s priority at the time had been to make sure “these events ran smoothly and with the appropriate level of dignity, while at all times ensuring the safety and security of the public”.

In a written ministerial statement made to Parliament, Mr Glen said the Treasury had provided additional funding where necessary and the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland governments were “fully” refunded for their respective costs.

The estimated costs include:

After Queen Elizabeth II died on 8 September 2022 aged 96, the UK started 10 days of national mourning.

The late Queen’s coffin was laid to rest in St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh for 24 hours, before the monarch was transported to Westminster Abbey in London where thousands of mourners queued for hours to pay their respects.

The scale of the state funeral and mourning arrangements led to what police described at the time as “probably the biggest operation we’re likely to launch in the UK”.

World leaders and foreign royalty joined the Royal Family for the state funeral at Westminster Abbey.

Members of the 2,000-strong congregation included the Queen’s great-grandchildren, the prime minister at the time Liz Truss and US President Joe Biden and his wife Jill.