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How much does Trooping the Colour cost?

Royal spectacle back in London for another year at a high cost to the taxpayer

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England. London. Trooping the Colour. 2nd Battalion Grenadier Guards.
The 2nd Battalion Grenadier Guards at a previous Trooping the Colour. Picture: Alamy

By William Mata

King Charles will enjoy a Red Arrows display and a military procession for Trooping the Colour 2026, a grand event to mark his official birthday, which costs around £10million.

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The historic event will be back on Saturday, June 13, with the fly-over coordinated to bring the finale at around 1pm.

King Charles will be joined by key members of the royal family, including his son Prince William, daughter-in-law Kate Middleton, and his wife, Queen Camilla.

Prince Harry and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor will not be attending, but other members of the family might be at Buckingham Palace for the occasion.

There will also be a gun salute and a military procession.

Here is how much the events cost the taxpayer.

Read also: Trooping the Colour 2026: Red Arrows flypast route, times and best locations

Read also: Trooping the Colour 2026 - date, time and important order of events

King Charles III, as Colonel-in-Chief and the Company Commander of The King's Company, Grenadier Guards
King Charles inspects his troops ahead of the Trooping of the Colour. Picture: Alamy

How much does Trooping the Colour cost?

Buckingham Palace largely pays for Trooping the Colour, using funds from the Duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster, with the Express stating in 2023 that the King's first event came to £10m.

According to a Freedom of Information request submitted to the Ministry of Defence in 2021, the Trooping the Colour celebrations cost the department £59,662.70.

This figure covers fuel and transport, but is not the whole picture; it does mean that some taxpayer money goes towards it.