COST
Back home, political leaders will be hoping the coronation will show Britain at its best, going some way to repair the country’s international standing dented by its exit from the European Union.
The presidents of France and Germany and senior EU leaders will be among the 2,300 guests attending, along with global royalty.
The opulent display of jewels, crowns and gilded coaches, however, sits uneasily with many Britons struggling due to the rising cost of living, and widespread strike action for better pay.
“We are not living the same life. At this time people are struggling,” Eden Eawit, 38, told AFP in north London.
“I cook only two days a week, I eat only sandwiches. Some people are not eating at all. It is very hard,” she said.
Much of the final taxpayer-funded bill, widely estimated to be upwards of £100 million (US$126 million), is likely to come from the huge security operation.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “A national occasion like this, a great state occasion, does attract huge global interest that more than repays the expenditure that goes with it.”
UKHospitality, a trade body, said the coronation weekend, which includes a public holiday on Monday, could generate £350 million for the sector including pubs.
Source: CNA
