Skeptical subjects before the big party: More than half of Britons apparently believe that the coronation of King Charles III. (74) should not be publicly funded. This is the result of a new survey in Great Britain, which is reported among other things by “Sky News”.
The “YouGov” poll, conducted just over two weeks before the event, found that 51 percent of the adults surveyed believe that the ceremony should not be funded by taxpayers. Almost a third – 32 percent – supported government funding for the coronation, according to the report, while around 18 percent were undecided on the issue.
4,246 Britons were interviewed for the survey. The young adults were even more skeptical about the use of tax money: 62 percent of 18 to 24-year-olds are against state funding for the coronation, only 15 percent are in favor. For those over 65, 44 percent said the ceremony should not be funded by the state, while 43 percent said it would.
The coronation will take place on May 6th in London’s Westminster Abbey. The event is expected to cost several million pounds, according to “Sky News”. Since the government does not comment on the expected total costs, it is unknown how much public funding will be involved. According to some unconfirmed estimates, the total cost of the ceremony could range from £50m to £100m.
The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022) cost £912,000 in 1953 – which is £20.5 million (23 million euros) today, according to Sky News. The cost of the ceremony for George VI. (1895-1952) in 1937 were today’s 24.8 million pounds (about 28 million euros).