THE £33.5 MILLION WEDDING BILL

THE total bill for the wedding is estimated to be a staggering £33.5 million. This is an increase of £1.5 million on the previously reported cost (calculated by wedding company Bridebook), now including sums incurred by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

The average wedding in Britain costs around £18,000, meaning you could have bought 1,860 such events with Harry and Meghan’s budget. (William and Kate’s nuptials in 2011 cost an estimated £20 million.)

Of the £33.5 million, the royals reportedly contributed only about £ 2 million — leaving the taxpayer to pick up 94 per cent of the cost. The vast majority of this went on security: estimated at £30million by Bridebook.

The hardpressed Ministry of Defence reportedly blew a reported £90,000 on 20 brand- new, silver- plated trumpets for the bash. The manufacturer said the request was for ‘a bit more bling’ and ‘more silver rings’ on these instruments. The DCMS’s bill of £1.5 million covered items including a £232,810 PA system, £128,714 for private contractors and £14,081 for flags and banners. The taxpayers of Windsor and Maidenhead saw their council splurge more than £1 million on crowd control barriers, big screens, stewarding and waste disposal. Of the £2 million spent by the royals, much of it went on clothes. Meghan’s wedding dress (her second), a creation of Clare Waight Keller, came in at a reported £390,000. That makes the dress worn by Kate for her 2011 wedding look a bargain at its estimated £250,000. TOTAL ESTIMATED BILL FOR THE TAXPAYER: £31.5 MILLION