London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Dec 08, 2025

Queen Elizabeth II: Funeral and 10 days of mourning cost government £162m

Queen Elizabeth II: Funeral and 10 days of mourning cost government £162m

Queen Elizabeth II's funeral and events during the period of national mourning cost the government an estimated £162m, the Treasury has said.

The state funeral on 19 September 2022 came 11 days after her death.

During that period of national mourning hundreds of thousands of people visited Westminster where she was lying in state.

The Home Office (£74m) and Department of Culture, Media and Sport (£57m) spent the most.

The costs incurred by the government departments relate to the Queen's funeral and other events in the run-up, 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:

*  Department for Culture, Media & Sport - £57.42m

*  Department for Transport - £2.565m

*  Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office - £2.096m

*  Home Office - £73.68m

*  Ministry of Defence - £2.890m

*  Northern Ireland Office - £2.134m

*  Scottish Government - £18.756m

*  Welsh Government - £2.202m

*  Total - £161.743m

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 taken to Westminster Abbey in London where thousands of mourners queued for hours to pay their respects.

People lined up in London at all hours of the day, often in chilly temperatures, to pay their respects - including David Beckham.

The wait time at one stage was estimated to be more than 24 hours; and the queue snaked from Westminster Hall, down along the River Thames and stretched south for almost seven miles (11km).

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".

Queen Elizabeth II's coffin being carried out of Westminster Abbey


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.

The event was watched by millions of people across the country and around the world.

It was the first state funeral since Sir Winston Churchill's in 1965 and the biggest ceremonial event since World War Two.

After the funeral, the Queen's coffin travelled in a procession to Wellington Arch and then on to its final journey to Windsor Castle and a committal service.

Queen Elizabeth II's death was followed by 10 days of national mourning


The cost was used to facilitate the smooth running of the event and ensure mourners from the UK and across the world could visit and take part safely, Downing Street has said.

"Of course, a major international event of this scale, we wanted to ensure that we could enable people to pay their respects," a No 10 spokesman added.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
"The Great Filtering": Australia Blocks Hundreds of Thousands of Minors From Social Networks
Mark Zuckerberg Pulls Back From Metaverse After $70 Billion Loss as Meta Shifts Priorities to AI
Nvidia CEO Says U.S. Data-Center Builds Take Years while China ‘Builds a Hospital in a Weekend’
Indian Airports in Turmoil as IndiGo Cancels Over a Thousand Flights, Stranding Thousands
Hollywood Industry on Edge as Netflix Secures Near-$60 Bln Loan for Warner Bros Takeover
Drugs and Assassinations: The Connection Between the Italian Mafia and Football Ultras
Hollywood megadeal: Netflix acquires Warner Bros. Discovery for 83 billion dollars
The Disregard for a Europe ‘in Danger of Erasure,’ the Shift Toward Russia: Trump’s Strategic Policy Document
Two and a Half Weeks After the Major Outage: A Cloudflare Malfunction Brings Down Multiple Sites
UK data-regulator demands urgent clarity on racial bias in police facial-recognition systems
Labour Uses Biscuits to Explain UK Debt — MPs Lean Into Social Media to Reach New Audiences
German President Lays Wreath at Coventry as UK-Germany Reaffirm Unity Against Russia’s Threat
UK Inquiry Finds Putin ‘Morally Responsible’ for 2018 Novichok Death — London Imposes Broad Sanctions on GRU
India backs down on plan to mandate government “Sanchar Saathi” app on all smartphones
King Charles Welcomes German President Steinmeier to UK in First State Visit by Berlin in 27 Years
UK Plans Major Cutback to Jury Trials as Crown Court Backlog Nears 80,000
UK Government to Significantly Limit Jury Trials in England and Wales
U.S. and U.K. Seal Drug-Pricing Deal: Britain Agrees to Pay More, U.S. Lifts Tariffs
UK Postpones Decision Yet Again on China’s Proposed Mega-Embassy in London
Head of UK Budget Watchdog Resigns After Premature Leak of Reeves’ Budget Report
Car-sharing giant Zipcar to exit UK market by end of 2025
Reports of Widespread Drone Deployment Raise Privacy and Security Questions in the UK
UK Signals Security Concerns Over China While Pursuing Stronger Trade Links
Google warns of AI “irrationality” just as Gemini 3 launch rattles markets
Top Consultancies Freeze Starting Salaries as AI Threatens ‘Pyramid’ Model
Macron Says Washington Pressuring EU to Delay Enforcement of Digital-Regulation Probes Against Meta, TikTok and X
UK’s DragonFire Laser Downs High-Speed Drones as £316m Deal Speeds Naval Deployment
UK Chancellor Rejects Claims She Misled Public on Fiscal Outlook Ahead of Budget
Starmer Defends Autumn Budget as Finance Chief Faces Accusations of Misleading Public Finances
EU Firms Struggle with 3,000-Hour Paperwork Load — While Automakers Fear De Facto 2030 Petrol Car Ban
White House launches ‘Hall of Shame’ site to publicly condemn media outlets for alleged bias
UK Budget’s New EV Mileage Tax Undercuts Case for Plug-In Hybrids
UK Government Launches National Inquiry into ‘Grooming Gangs’ After US Warning and Rising Public Outcry
Taylor Swift Extends U.K. Chart Reign as ‘The Fate of Ophelia’ Hits Six Weeks at No. 1
250 Still Missing in the Massive Fire, 94 Killed. One Day After the Disaster: Survivor Rescued on the 16th Floor
Trump: National Guard Soldier Who Was Shot in Washington Has Died; Second Soldier Fighting for His Life
UK Chancellor Reeves Defends Tax Rises as Essential to Reduce Child Poverty and Stabilise Public Finances
No Evidence Found for Claim That UK Schools Are Shifting to Teaching American English
European Powers Urge Israel to Halt West Bank Settler Violence Amid Surge in Attacks
"I Would Have Given Her a Kidney": She Lent Bezos’s Ex-Wife $1,000 — and Received Millions in Return
European States Approve First-ever Military-Grade Surveillance Network via ESA
UK to Slash Key Pension Tax Perk, Targeting High Earners Under New Budget
UK Government Announces £150 Annual Cut to Household Energy Bills Through Levy Reforms
UK Court Hears Challenge to Ban on Palestine Action as Critics Decry Heavy-Handed Measures
Investors Rush Into UK Gilts and Sterling After Budget Eases Fiscal Concerns
UK to Raise Online Betting Taxes by £1.1 Billion Under New Budget — Firms Warn of Fallout
Lamine Yamal? The ‘Heir to Messi’ Lost to Barcelona — and the Kingdom Is in a Frenzy
Warner Music Group Drops Suit Against Suno, Launches Licensed AI-Music Deal
HP to Cut up to 6,000 Jobs Globally as It Ramps Up AI Integration
MediaWorld Sold iPad Air for €15 — Then Asked Customers to Return Them or Pay More
×