The coronation of Charles III, a symbolic ceremony a few months after his official accession to the throne, cost the British taxpayer in May 2023 at least 72 million pounds, or more than 86.5 million euros, according to data recently published by the government.
The Ministry of Culture, Communication and Sport, which is in charge of the budget for the event and which has just published its accounts for 2023-2024, ensures that the costs of the coronation ceremony of Carlos and Camilla are amounted to 50.3 million pounds; In addition, the Home Office received a further £21.7 million for the estimated additional cost of coronation security, which included a carriage procession and ceremony at Westminster Abbey to place the crown in gold and silver on the monarch’s diamonds and other precious stones. has been passed down from head to head since 1660.
Expenses related to the coronation were an additional cost to the Treasury and did not come from the budget of the British crown, which is the highest in the world among royal families and exceeds 100 million euros per year. In addition, the monarch has a personal fortune of around 2 billion euros which he built through investments and non-transparent relationships, as the newspaper’s journalistic investigation has extensively documented. Tutor.
Charles III ascended the throne in September 2022 after the death of his mother, Elizabeth II, with promises of austerity and reforms, but the royal family’s budget has only increased. In 2025, it will reach up to 132 million pounds per year, or 161 million euros, depending on the application of the agreement with the previous conservative government.
An optional rite
The coronation ceremony is a tradition, but it was not necessary for the proclamation of Charles as monarch, automatic since the death of Elizabeth II, the longest-serving monarch. The decision to hold the ceremony and the details of how to carry it out depended on the royal family.
According to the Ministry of Culture, the ceremony was a success because of its audience and the security with which it took place. In its accounting report, the ministry points out that 2,000 guests attended the ceremony at Westminster Abbey, some 20,000 spectators went to the concert organized that evening at Windsor Castle and thousands of people filled the streets of London for hours to see the procession from afar. He also assures that charities raised the equivalent of 17 million euros on those days and that the occasion “gave communities the opportunity to organize street parties as a national act of celebration and ‘friendship”.
The coronation gave an extra public holiday, the following Monday, which usually hurts the economy. The impact of the ceremony is difficult to measure, but the additional holidays reduce production: this May, GDP fell by 0.3% compared to the previous month, according to a report on the subject for the House of Commons , which also recalls the era. high prices and strikes. Despite London’s hotel occupancy rate being above 90% over the weekend and previous estimates, revenues for pubs and restaurants fell that month.
The coronation ceremony attracted an estimated television audience of 20 million viewers, compared to 29 million for Queen Elizabeth’s funeral the previous year.
The majority of Britons believed in April 2023 that the government should not pay coronation costs, according to a YouGov poll. Nearly half of those surveyed said it was unlikely they would attend the coronation. 9% said the coronation mattered “a lot” and 24% said “quite a bit,” according to the same pollster.
Higher actual cost
“The coronation was an archaic, meaningless parade that took place because Charles wanted it to. “It was not necessary,” said Thursday Graham Smith, spokesperson for Republic, an organization of activists who demand transparency in the accounts of the British crown, the reform of its role and ultimately the election at the polls of the British crown. head of state and the transformation of the United Kingdom into a parliamentary republic “At a time when so many people are suffering from the cost of living crisis, it is a shame that Carlos insisted on this unnecessary extravagance,” lamented Smith. .
According to Republic, the cost of the ceremony is underestimated since, for example, the expenses of the Ministry of Defense are not included. “The real cost is probably much higher,” according to this organization, which points out that the budget of 72 million pounds sterling would, for example, finance 27 million lunches for schoolchildren who need help to eat.
The United Kingdom, more affected than its neighbors by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, continues to suffer the effects of the disconnection from its main market, the EU, and the deterioration of public services after budget cuts in 14 years conservative government. The new Labor leader, Keir Starmer, promises no more budget cuts, but he is struggling to balance the budget and has already mentioned some aid and relief.
In the United Kingdom, more than 16 million people live below the poverty line, or 24%, according to a study by an independent, non-partisan commission specializing in inequality. This newly published study estimates that more than two million people have fallen into poverty since 2019, reaching the highest percentage of people in poverty since comparable data became available in 2000.
Republic compares coronation spending to school meals – even though those “savings” would not be spent on those items – because children are most affected by the country’s deteriorating conditions. The study estimates that more than five million children, or 36%, live in poor families.
The majority of people believe the monarchy is “a good thing” for the UK, according to the latest available data from YouGov, from August this year, although support for the institution has declined, particularly among those under 50. . Carlos is less popular than his eldest son and more than his current wife.
