A survey conducted by Ipsos just yesterday, revealed that 50% of British people think that too much money was spent on King Charles III’s coronation. This is an increase from the percentage of people who thought this before the Coronation, only 33% of people thought too much money was being spent.
The Coronation of King Charles III occurred on Saturday 6th May and was attended by a number of prolific figures in the world of politics, royalty and music. It is set to cost between £50 million and £150 million for taxpayers. Due to the cost of living crisis, that has left many Brits in desperate situations, often having to choose between heating their homes and feeding their families. Due to this strained financial climate that the UK is in, this large expense has been heavily criticised by many people.
History teacher Rebecca Andrews says: “I think the timing of [the coronation] was poor in terms of the economic situation. You have people going on strike, doctors perhaps being sued by the government, but we’ve got millions to spend on the monarchy. People don’t feel that their money should prop this institution that they have no say in.
The Coronation was also criticised for the Metropolitan Police’s actions. Another survey by Ipsos found that 4 in 10 (43%) people believe that the police’s actions were appropriate. The Metropolitan Police arrested volunteers handing out ‘rape alarms’ over concerns that they were deliberately trying to disturb the Coronation. The Metropolitan Police also apologised after they arrested a royal fan and detained her for thirteen hours after they mistook her for a participant in the anti-monarchy protests. The anti-monarchy group Republic saw their membership doubling after the arrest of the group’s chief executive, Graham Smith.
“With the expense of the coronation, there isn’t the fondness there [for the monarchy].”
“I think attitudes will continue to decline,” Rebecca says. “People feel that there’ll be less and less desire to prop it up by the taxpayer. Prince William has also publicly said that he wants to scale back the monarchy in terms of spending and the pomp and circumstance.”
Support for the abolition of the monarchy is strongest among young people with more than one third of 18-24 year olds preferring an elected head of state.
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