One of the great debates about the royal family is whether they deserve all the money that taxpayers provide them.
On one side of this debate, there are people who believe that the entire royal family is an old-fashioned throwback to a bygone era and that taxpayers should no longer have to foot the bill for royally luxurious lifestyles. On the other hand, there are those who believe that the royal family is an appreciated and traditional part of British culture and that the expense is worth it.
Finally, there is a practical perspective that simply argues that the royal family generates more income than it costs, making it a financial asset, regardless of one’s personal feelings about it.
Now that Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry have resisted tradition and strayed from their royal duties, the debate has centered on the expenses of her royal wedding.
Taxpayers contribute a lot to royalty
British taxpayers are definitely helping to maintain the luxurious lifestyles of the royal family. This is one of the reasons why they feel entitled to information about their personal lives. After all, they are the ones who paid for them to live in those homes and build these lives.
However, the more expensive members of the royal family may not be what you would expect. While tabloids have often zeroed in on Prince Harry and Meghan to highlight their excess, it’s actually Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, who have cost taxpayers the most.
The travel budget is a large part of the expenses covered by the public, and Prince Charles and Camilla ate almost half of that on their own. These expenses were justified, at least according to a royal aide, because Prince Charles is such an important ambassador: “His trip abroad was at the behest of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who realizes that he is an excellent ambassador for Britain.”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had an extravagant wedding
When Prince Harry and Meghan were married in May 2018, it was an extravagant event. Of course, that is to be expected for members of the royal family, as the wedding is also a very public reason for celebration and a major draw for tourism.
The wedding took place at Windsor Castle, which the royal family could use for free, but the cost of securing and decorating was around $ 500,000. Meghan’s dress, one of the most expensive in real history, was a staggering $ 420,000. Catering only cost the staggering $ 400,000.
In total, the event cost around $ 35.7 million. Obviously, that’s a huge expense, and it far exceeded Prince William and Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding, which came in at around $ 26 million. Thinking about this price and knowing that the royal couple left their public duties shortly after getting married, there are some who are outraged at having paid for such a lavish event.
Meghan defends her wedding expenses
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It is difficult to argue that the wedding was not expensive for the worshiping public, but was it really wasted money? Despite the fact that Meghan and Prince Harry decided to move away from their royal duties to protect their privacy and focus on their family, the wedding itself was a huge draw for tourism.
In fact, recently released court documents show how much the wedding won for the British public. “The Duchess’s lawyers allegedly claim that the royal wedding generated £ 1 billion in tourism revenue, so far exceeding the cost to the taxpayer,” the report explains.
This is the equivalent of $ 1.24 billion dollars. If those numbers are true, there’s no question that the wedding was a smart investment for the British public, and Meghan and Prince Harry, who showcased themselves as much as they could enjoy their big day, helped raise a lot of money. .
