Why The Queen's Projected Funeral Costs Have Twitter Seeing Red

The people of Great Britain are in mourning over the heartbreaking death of Queen Elizabeth II. As the country's longest-reigning monarch, her funeral will be one of the largest events in British history, with leaders from around the world — including U.S. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden — flying in for the services.

Before her passing, the queen had a heavy hand in planning the funeral, including requesting that it be held at Westminster Abbey, rather than St. George's Chapel, where the funeral for Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, was held. Not only can the Abbey accommodate a larger number of people, but it is also where Elizabeth got married and was crowned, per the Daily Mail. Elizabeth also worked with Jaguar Land Rover to custom design the hearse that will carry her coffin, which is made of English oak and lined with lead, per the Daily Mail.

Thousands of mourners have already lined up outside of Westminster Hall for the chance to walk past the queen's coffin, with The Mirror reporting that people could stand up to 30 hours in line in order to pay their respects. In fact, the U.K. government is preparing for as many as 750,000 mourners in London, with the city being "full" for the first time.

But while no one is surprised at the level of planning surrounding the queen's funeral, its potential price tag has many people on social media seeing red.

Some people are balking at the projected funeral costs for Queen Elizabeth II's funeral, which could cost British taxpayers as much as $9 million (£5.4 million), per Yahoo! Finance. As AJ+, a digital news platform, pointed out on Twitter, the price tag comes "amid warnings the country is heading toward recession and skyrocketing costs of living. Over 2 million people in the UK cannot afford to eat every day, surveys show."

The platform questioned why the British people have to foot the bill for the funeral, given that the royal family is reportedly worth an estimated $28 billion. Many on social media agreed, with one Twitter user writing, "I'm beginning to see why some are in favor of abolishing the monarchy," while another tweeted, "reading this makes my blood boil, that we taxpayers are paying for her funeral & Charlie's coronation."

Most of the funeral costs, however, will be for security, according to Yahoo Finance! With so many mourners expected to attend — including leaders from around the world — a former Met commander warned that crime could be a factor during the funeral services. "Unfortunately large numbers of people also bring in criminal opportunities, so you have to manage crime,"  Bob Broadhurst told the Daily Mail. "You have to manage the basics like lost children, all the other stuff that goes with that. Clearly terrorism will be a factor, security is a big issue right from the outset."