The cost of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral has been revealed, totaling £162 million, borne by taxpayers. This news surfaces shortly after King Charles’ coronation celebrations, sparking a debate on whether the Royal Family justifies such expenses.

Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral cost taxpayers £162m, it has emerged. The news, which comes just weeks after King Charles’ coronation celebrations, has triggered a debate over whether the Royal Family is worth the cost – and with tax take at historic highs, it is not unreasonable for taxpayers to ask if they are still getting good value for money.Here we break down the costs and benefits of the Royal Family, and how they contribute to the British economy.

The Government funds the King’s official business through an annual payment from the “Sovereign Grant”. This pays for staff costs and running the official royal household, as well as maintenance of the royal palaces and travel.The monarch typically receives around 15pc of the profits from the Crown Estates, which includes thousands of acres of land across the UK. These include London’s Regent Street, as well as the seabed and half of the foreshore around England and Wales

However, since 2017 this has been increased to 25pc to fund a major refurbishment of Buckingham Palace. It will stay at this level until 2027.The total amount received by the Royal Family from the Sovereign Grant was worth £86.3m in 2021-22, equivalent to £1.29 per person in Britain. However, the cost per person of the “core” part of the fund, which excludes the Buckingham Palace works, was 77p.

The income supplementing the Sovereign Grant is around £9.9m, which is still very far behind the £20.2m level in 2019-20. This is largely because of the impact the pandemic had on the Royal Family’s ability to open its palaces to visitors. This meant that overall, net expenditure was £102.4m – an increase of £14.9m, or 17pc, on the previous financial year.

The funeral and lying-in-state of Queen Elizabeth II cost taxpayers an estimated £161.7m. Although the cost of King Charles’ coronation has not yet been disclosed, royal pundits have pegged the bill somewhere between £50m and £100m.