Should Royals pick up 拢6m security bill for Harry and Meghan's wedding?
Although Harry and Meghan's wedding will be on a smaller scale than William and Kate's, it will come with a similar price tag.
Monday 23 April 2018 06:15, UK
Policing the Royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle could cost as much as 拢6m, according to estimates based on new figures relating to Prince William and Kate Middleton's big day in 2011.
Figures obtained by the Press Association through several Freedom of Information requests show that, in total, £6.35m was spent policing the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's wedding.
Nearly £3m was spent on overtime costs alone, with hundreds of officers drafted in to help police crowds watching the event in London which saw an estimated one million people line the streets.
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Next month's wedding of Harry and Meghan at Windsor Castle is expected to be on a smaller scale - but with a similar price tag.
Thames Valley Police is preparing for around 100,000 spectators in what will be one of the force's largest-ever security operations.
Reinforcements have been drafted in from other police forces, including the Metropolitan Police.
Anti-monarchy campaigner Graham Smith argues that the costs should be covered by the Royals themselves and not paid for by the public.
He said: "I think if it is going to be in the region of £6-8m, that's the sort of money the Royals can afford themselves.
"We should remember that it might be a private wedding, but they've chosen to do it in the centre of Windsor, they've chosen to do the procession through the centre of Windsor - they could have done it privately in Sandringham or Balmoral where the security is already in place.
"So I think it doesn't make sense the taxpayer picks up the cost - the Royals should pick up the whole bill for this event."
A previous estimate for the total cost of the security put forward by the Met Police in 2011 placed the figure higher at around £7.2m.
Policing expert Graham Wettone thinks the tab will run up to nearly as much as the 2011 Royal wedding. He said costs have gone up since then and the threat from terrorism is just as serious.
He said: "The police will have been planning this already for months. We're already at probably a million or two into the costs of the operation before we even get to the day itself.
"On the day there will be overt police officers deployed, sharp shooters out on the streets and also some on standby in the background ready to come out if needs be, and then there is of course the highly visible policing presence in and around the town centre."
A Thames Valley Police spokesman said costs for the police operation and any additional infrastructure will be shared between the force and the local council, but that any opportunity to recover costs from the Home Office at a later date "will of course be explored".
There is evidence that occasions like this can be good for tourism and business. The UK's national tourism agency Visit Britain said the country experienced a 7% increase in visitors around the time of Prince William's wedding between April and June 2011 compared with the previous year.
Then, of course, there are the intangible benefits of having a national ceremony like this broadcast to hundreds of millions around the world.
It is estimated, for example, that William and Kate's big day was viewed by two billion people worldwide.