When you live in Britain, there are several things you are going to have to accept. One is the weather; it’s not Miami or San Diego. It’s gray, cold, and wet quite often. The other unique aspect of British citizenry is that your taxes will help cover some over-the-top ceremonies that tend to get a little pricey.
Let’s start with The coronation ceremony of King Charles earlier this month. For most Americans, it’s equally fascinating and weird watching the Royals prance around honoring hundreds of years of pomp and circumstance. While we can’t agree on much in this country, we seem to be unified by the fact that the King might have been better served wearing a custom Tom Ford suit than the coronation robe he rocked for his big day. When your outfit looks like something Elton John wouldn’t be caught dead in, you might want to consider an amendment or two to the Royal Handbook.
And you better believe the dry cleaning and storage bills for those wacky outfits worn once every 75 years or so add up.
So, here are the staggering price tags for the last couple of Brit-tacular Royal extravaganzas the world couldn’t seem to keep its eyes off.
The coronation of Charles was years in the making, and the event planners were pulling down seven-figure salaries from the sounds of things because the final bill was in the nine figures. $125 million, according to ABC News, to turn the prince into a king without requiring him to kiss an amphibian.
Now, what about the Royal funeral of Queen Elizabeth last year? Sorry George, but your mom was more beloved than you, so the cost of her funeral was much higher — $200 million total for the funeral and the lying-in-sate. The U.K. Treasury published that number in a written statement to Parliament.
“The government’s priorities were that these events ran smoothly and with the appropriate level of dignity, while at all times ensuring the safety and security of the public,” is how John Glen, the chief secretary to the treasury, put it.
That’s a total of $325 million. A big number, no doubt, but imagine the cost of security to ensure Megan and Harry don’t try to crash something they weren’t on the guest list for.
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