Remember how King Charles was trying to save some money with a “slimmed down monarchy”? And a big early display of that was going to be his scaled back coronation ceremony? Well, let’s just say *scaled back* ain’t what it used to be!
Buckingham Palace does not release official figures, so the estimates of how much Saturday’s coronation ceremony will cost the UK cover a wide range indeed. But even at the lowest, it’s a very expensive day!
BBC reports the estimates, not from any official source, are between £50 million and £100 million. In US dollars that’s somewhere north of $63 mil — possibly even as much as $125 MILLION!
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Yeah. Even though we’re only talking about a one-hour ceremony, it’s 2,000 people, a “King’s procession” through the streets, the A-list concert featuring Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, and Take That. It all requires organization, security. It’s easily in the tens of millions.
That cost is coming from… you guessed it. The British taxpayer. While the Palace will pick up part of the bill, the UK government is on the hook for most of it. Understandably, a lot of Brits aren’t happy about it! According to a YouGov poll, 51% of British taxpayers don’t think they should have to pay for the ceremony. Makes sense considering the Royal family is so incredibly rich, they can afford their own parties. We mean… it’s not like the crowning itself is crucial. Charles is already king — and has been officially since September. If he really wanted to slim down this ceremony, he could have just not had it at all. Just a thought.
But hey, what would a monarch be if they weren’t celebrating themselves, right? What do YOU think, Perezcious readers? Should UK taxpayers be footing this bill?
[Image via MEGA/WENN.]