The Most Expensive Royal Funerals
Lifestyle - News
By JIA KANG
King Richard III
King Richard III died in 1485, but his remains resurfaced in 2012 and were finally put to rest in 2015. The total cost of the reburial amounted to over 3 million pounds, and 600,000 people came to participate in the event.
Queen Elizabeth I
At the time of her burial in 1603, Queen Elizabeth I’s funeral cost 11,000 pounds, which would be about 2.7 million pounds today. King James I spent 1,485 pounds, roughly 366,000 pounds in our time, to build a marble monument of the Queen.
Queen Mary II
Queen Mary II’s funeral expenses added up to a whopping 50,000 pounds when she died in 1694, now equalling around 12 million pounds when adjusted for inflation. The funeral was supposedly designed "to bolster the rule” of her husband, who was widely disliked at the time.
Queen Victoria
Queen Victoria’s funeral cost 35,000 pounds in 1901, approximately 4.9 million pounds in our time, and set the precedent for all royal funerals moving forward. She requested the service be held during the day instead of at night, and created a tradition royals still follow today.
King Edward VII
King Edward VII died only nine years after his mother Queen Victoria and funeral expenses reached 40,500 pounds, which would be around 5.3 million pounds today. Big Ben rang once for every year King Edward lived, and his dog was included in the funeral procession.