Royal wedding costs Rs5.3 bn, brings Rs155 bn to UK economy

LAHORE: The wedding of Prince Harry of Britain and former American actress, Meghan Markle, at Windsor Castle's Saint George’s Chapel on Saturday is estimated to have cost about US$45.8 million (Rs5.3 billion), reveals the “Business Insider.”

When Harry's brother Prince William had married Kate Middleton in 2011, the total cost of the royal wedding was estimated to be around $34 million; including $8.7 million security expenses and $4.9 million in overtime pay for the police.

"Messrs Brand Finance," a leading international brand and intangible asset valuation agency, has predicted that the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle will benefit the British economy by over £ one billion (US$ 1.346 billion or Rs155 billion), spread across several different industry sectors like tourism, proceeds through television broadcast coverage, retail sales and business attracted by local restaurants etc.

Royal family pays major chunk of expenses:

Much of the wedding — including the music, food, flowers, and invitations — were due to be paid for by the royal family, led by the queen, says the "Business Insider," which is an American financial and business news website that also operates international editions in the UK, Australia, China, Germany, France, South Africa, India, Italy, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, Nordics, Poland and Singapore.

According to the "Business Insider," Queen Elizabeth II is making about $104.8 million, though "Forbes" magazine had reported in 2016 that the queen had a net worth of US$530 million.

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Meghan's dress highlights:

Markle bought her own an exclusive double bonded silk dress, which was designed by a female British designer Clare Waight Keller who works at the historic French fashion house, Givenchy.

When Kate Middleton had her royal wedding in 2011, her family had reportedly paid for the $4, 34,000 dresses.

The dress has cost Meghan Markle between US$500,000 and $600,000.

Meghan wanted to have all 53 countries of the Commonwealth with her on her journey through the ceremony. Ms. Waight Keller designed a veil representing the distinctive flora of each Commonwealth country united in one spectacular floral composition. The veil is five meters long and made from silk tulle with a trim of hand-embroidered flowers in silk threads and organza.

Each flower was worked flat, in three dimensions to create a unique and delicate design. The workers spent hundreds of hours meticulously sewing and washing their hands every thirty minutes to keep the tulle and threads pristine.

Number of guests invited:

Harry and Meghan involved members of the public in their wedding day by inviting 2,640 people into the grounds of Windsor Castle, which has hosted Royal Weddings for over 150 years---starting from the 1863 marriage of Queen Victoria's son Prince Albert, or the future King Edward VII, to Princess Alexandra of Denmark.

By the way, on May 9, 2005, Harry’s father Prince Charles (the Prince of Wales) had tied a marital knot with Camilla (the Duchess of Cornwall) at Windsor too.

The function was attended by The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh.

Facts about Windsor Castle and St George's Chapel:

St George's Chapel at Windsor is a place of worship for The Queen and the Royal Family as well as a church serving the local community.

The construction of the Chapel was begun in 1475 by Edward IV and completed by Henry VIII in 1528.

Over the years, the interior of the Chapel has developed to commemorate key figures in Royal history and the history of the Chapel.

The town of Windsor is situated 34 kilometres west of London, and houses massive history.