The cost of security – which is estimated at between $32 million and $40 million – including snipers on rooftops and anti-drone technology — will fall on the hands of the commoners.
British taxpayers will be expected to pick up as much as half of the estimated $83 million royal wedding tab, according to reports.
The cost of security, estimated at between $32 million and $40 million — including snipers on rooftops and anti-drone technology — will fall to the commoners, CNBC reported .
The security estimate is higher than the close to $27 million spent on safety for Prince William and Kate Middleton ’s 2011 wedding in central London, because of heightened terrorist threats, the Independent UK reported .
More than 100,000 people are expected to be in Windsor — a small medieval town made up of narrow streets — to watch the procession.
“It’s a hell of a job to secure,” Dai Davies, former head of royal protection, told CBS News . “It has narrow streets, cobbled in parts. How do you secure several miles of very small township and parts which are open and green?”
Another factor bumping up the bill is that more than 2,000 members of the public are expected to attend Windsor Castle for celebrations on the big day.
The royal family will foot the bill for the remainder of the wedding — which is also expected to top $43 million, according to wedding service Bridebook .
Critics, such as a group called Republic, say the government should disclose exactly how much taxpayers will spend on Saturday’s affair.
“A royal wedding is a private, personal event, dressed up as a national occasion,” reads their newly launched petition that has so far garnered over 30,000 signatures. “Taxpayers should not be funding a private wedding, no matter who is getting married.”
