Why people are furious about the royal wedding
Thousands of Brits are outraged at having to pay the bill for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding in May.
More than 14,700 disgruntled people have signed a petition set up by UK group Republic, criticising the British parliament for using taxpayer money to fund the nuptials.
“A royal wedding is a private, personal event, dressed up as a national occasion. That lets the royals use the wedding as a PR exercise and to expect the taxpayer will pay a large part of the costs,” the petition states.
“If Harry and Meghan want to turn their big day into a public event, they need to pick up the bill — all of it,” it says.
Prince Harry and Ms Markle will marry on May 19 at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.
The event will be televised and will require increased police and security presence for both the royal family and the hundreds of thousands of well-wishers expected to crowd the streets.
When the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wed in London in 2011, an estimated 5000 police officers were required. Around one million spectators lined the streets to watch the royal procession.
It is believed the cost of security for William and Kate’s wedding vary between $10 and $20 million.
But due to recent global security concerns, the bill for Harry and Meghan’s royal wedding may be more.
The Royal Family has said it will foot the bill for the wedding, but the petitioners point to the fact that UK taxpayers pay the royals’ salaries.
“The exact details of royal wedding funding are shrouded in secrecy, but we do know — at the very least — that expensive road closures and policing will be required. And we know local councils and the taxpayer will end up footing the bill,” the petition says.
“Taxpayers should not be funding a private wedding, no matter who is getting married.
“The Palace claims the wedding will be funded by the royal family, but royal funding blurs the lines between private income and public money.
“So, whether it’s the cost of policing paid for directly by us, or costs of the wedding ceremony, paid for by the royals, the taxpayer still ends up paying.”
The petition also quotes a recent survey showing that 52 per cent of Britons are “indifferent” to the royal wedding.
A former Head of Royal Protection and Chief Superintendent of the MET Police, Dai Davies, told E! News security would be a major concern for the upcoming wedding.
“In the last thousand years there hasn’t been a King or Queen that someone hasn’t tried to murder,” he told E! News.
“Thousands of people will be working on keeping the family and their fans safe. This is a time to be extremely prudent and sensible. Every precaution needs to be taken.”
And part of the difficulties is the location.
“Windsor is a much harder area to secure than London, which is so much better prepared. In Windsor, there are shops, buildings, houses — you name it — and there is a history of people trying to get into Windsor Castle,” Mr Davies said.
“Clearly 99 per cent of the population are deliriously happy but you could get a small right-wing fascist group who may object to it, so that adds to your problem. I don’t know how they are going to secure it [Windsor] to the level that I would want, but clearly, much wiser people are now doing the job and I’m sure they’ll come up with a plan.”