Honoring the legacy of Queen Elizabeth II comes with a lofty price tag.
The life of the longest-reigning monarch in British history, who passed away on Sept. 8 at the age of 96, was marked with a funeral service at Westminster Abbey on Sept. 19. The service was the first state funeral the country has seen since that of Winston Churchill's in January 1965.
It was also the first held for a monarch since the death of her father, King George VI, who passed away in 1952. Although the British government has not yet confirmed the exact cost of the state funeral, stating that details will be shared "in due course," reports estimate that the total is expected to be upwards of at least $7.5 million.
Per the New York Post, a formal royal security officer predicted that would be the cost of the security for the funeral alone -- not including the ceremonial events that led up to the occasion. In fact, according to London's Metropolitan Police, Queen Elizabeth's funeral is the single largest policing event that they have ever undertaken, surpassing the 2012 London Olympics and the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations that occurred earlier this year.
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Queen Elizabeth II's Royal Funeral
In total, 10,000 officers took part in the policing operation for The Queen's service.
For reference, the 2002 funeral for the late monarch's mother, Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, per the New York Times, was estimated to have cost over $950,000 for the lying-in-state period and $5 million for security in total.
Most of the bottom line for the total cost of the Queen's funeral, per The Express, is expected to have been set aside "over recent years, by both royalty and government." The worth of the royal family is reported to stand at an estimated $28 billion, with most of the royal family's annual income and expenses paid through the public Sovereign Grant, and the private Duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster.
Following the Queen's funeral at Westminster Abbey, her coffin was taken by hearse to St. George Chapel at Windsor Castle, where she will be buried alongside her late husband, Prince Philip, her parents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, and sister Princess Margaret after a private burial service.
