Charles to pick up William and Kate's lavish wedding bill: But the taxpayers could still have to find £20m for the security
11-18-2010 05:02 AM
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Thu, 2010-11-18 13:01
Charles to pick up William and Kate's lavish wedding bill: But the taxpayers could still have to find £20m for the security
Charles to pick up William and Kate's lavish wedding bill: But the taxpayers could still have to find £20m for the security
Prince Charles is expected to spend millions of pounds for his son’s upcoming wedding. But Prince William and Kate Middleton’s ceremony will still leave the taxpayer with a security tab of tens of millions of pounds. St James’s Palace, which represents William and Kate, said they will have an austere ceremony that will not weigh too heavily on taxpayers.
Plans are being drawn up in the knowledge that an ostentatious display would sit uneasily alongside cuts unveiled in last month’s Comprehensive Spending Review, which could see half a million lose their jobs in the next five years.
But even Charles and Camilla’s ‘modest’ register officer wedding five years ago cost £5million, while Charles and Diana’s ceremony at St Paul’s Cathedral cost £4million back in 1981.
Next year’s event will dwarf these figures, with some estimates suggesting it could reach between £20million and £40million.
The Palace insisted details of the arrangement are still being worked out, as William and Kate sat down for intense planning meetings with staff. But a senior courtier said: ‘Both the Prince of Wales and the Queen will contribute towards the cost of the wedding. It will be a family contribution. In particular, if the reception is held at Buckingham Palace, the Queen will pay for that.’
Traditionally, the father of the bride pays for his daughter’s wedding. But in this case it is thought Mr Middleton will not be pressured to pitch in.
dailymail.co.uk
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