Petition seeking to stop govt from spending £8m on King Charles' portraits rejected

The government has rejected a petition seeking to stop a plan to spend £8 million on providing free portraits of King Charles.

Launched on April 2, the petition was rejected because a similar petition calling for the same action was launched in October 2023, which received only 127 signatures.

The petition said: "This Government should scrap the plans to fund a portrait of King Charles for public organisations, such as schools, police stations etc. The Government has set aside £8 million for this, at a time when so much of our country is struggling.

There are many more worthy things to spend £8 million on:

- the NHS

- the education system

- help for households across the country with the cost of living

- Business support

- Public services

This money should not be used to fund portraits that are not essential. This is wasteful."

Government says it will respond to a petition at 10,000 signatures.

At 100,000 signatures the petition is considered for debate in parliament.