Harry's Wedding: The Multi-Million Dollar Affair

The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in 2018 reportedly cost £32 million, with security costs making up the majority of the bill at around £30 million. The royal family paid for the core aspects of the wedding, including the church service, music, flowers, decorations, and the reception, while the security costs were largely covered by taxpayers. The wedding included a range of expenses, such as catering, the dress, flowers, entertainment, and venue hire, and is considered one of the most expensive weddings of all time.

Security costs

Security was a major concern at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding, with the cost of security estimated to be between £24 million and £30 million. This amount was expected to be covered by the taxpayers, sparking some controversy. The security measures included snipers, undercover police, a counter-UAV system, airport-style security scanners, steel barriers, and a "screening and search regime" for everyone arriving in Windsor on the day. The presence of armed officers and police dogs was also noted.

The high cost of security was due to several factors. Firstly, there were heightened threat levels in the UK at the time, following a series of attacks. Secondly, Prince Harry's link to the British military posed an additional risk. Finally, the plan to invite over 2,000 members of the public to attend celebrations at Windsor Castle increased the need for tighter security.

The security costs for Harry and Meghan's wedding were significantly higher than those for Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding in 2011, which totalled around £6.35 million in policing costs, with an additional £2.8 million in police overtime. However, it is important to note that the actual cost of security for William and Kate's wedding, including counter-terrorism measures, was estimated to be between £10 million and £20 million.

While the Royal Family announced that they would pay for the "core aspects" of Harry and Meghan's wedding, such as the church service, music, flowers, decorations, and reception, the security costs fell to the taxpayers. This decision was met with some criticism, with pressure groups like Republic calling for the Royal Family to cover the security expenses themselves, especially considering the wedding was a private family event.

Food and drink

The menu featured seasonal British produce, including asparagus, peas, tomatoes, chicken, lamb, and pork belly. Guests were served a selection of canapes, including Scottish langoustines wrapped in smoked salmon with citrus creme fraiche, grilled English asparagus wrapped in Cumbrian ham, and croquette of confit Windsor lamb with roasted vegetables and shallot jam.

A selection of bowl food was also served, including pea and mint risotto with pea shoots, truffle oil, and parmesan crisps, and fricassee of free-range chicken with morel mushrooms and young leeks.

Sweet canapes included champagne and pistachio macaroons, orange crème brûlée tartlets, and miniature rhubarb crumble tartlets.

The wedding cake, created by Claire Ptak of Violet Cakes, was a lemon elderflower cake decorated with Swiss meringue buttercream and 150 fresh flowers.

For the after-party, guests were treated to an ice luge and South African wagyu beef, as well as "apache shooters" and "frozen strawberry sparkles." Ice cream was served from vans at 2 a.m.

Flowers

Prince Harry hand-picked flowers for Meghan's bouquet from Kensington Palace's private garden. The bouquet was a mix of tradition and modernity, including sprigs of myrtle, a royal bridal bouquet tradition that dates back to Queen Victoria's wedding. The bespoke cocktail also included Forget-Me-Nots, scented sweet peas, astilbe, jasmine, lily of the valley, and astrantia. The completed bouquet was tied together by a silk ribbon. Following the wedding, Meghan's bouquet was laid on the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior at Westminster Abbey, in keeping with royal tradition.

The flowers were chosen by the groom, who hand-picked forget-me-nots in honour of his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. The flowers were also incorporated into Meghan's wedding veil, which was 16 feet long and embroidered with 55 flowers representing the 53 countries of the Commonwealth, as well as Wintersweet, which grows in front of Nottingham Cottage, and the California Poppy, the state flower of California.

Music

The prelude to the ceremony featured a large contingent of British composers, including Elgar, Vaughan Williams, and Peter Warlock. The orchestra, conducted by Christopher Warren Green, played a selection of pieces, including Elgar's 'Salut d'Amour' and 'Serenade for Strings (first movement)', Vaughan Williams' 'Fantasia on Greensleeves', and Warlock's 'Capriol Suite' (movements 2, 3, and 5).

As Markle walked down the aisle, the orchestra performed Handel's 'Eternal Source of Light Divine', originally composed in 1713 to mark the birthday of Queen Anne. The hymn 'Lord of All Hopefulness', with its traditional folk tune, was also included in the ceremony.

During the signing of the register, cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason performed two pieces: Paradis' 'Sicilienne' and Fauré's 'Après un rêve'. The cello was also featured in Schubert's 'Ave Maria', arranged for the instrument.

The ceremony also included a choral version of Ben E. King's 'Stand By Me', performed by Karen Gibson and The Kingdom Choir, and Rutter's 'The Lord Bless You and Keep You'. The procession concluded with Boyce's 'Symphony No. 1 in B-flat – Allegro' and Etta James' 'Amen/This Little Light of Mine'.

Bride's dress

Meghan Markle's wedding dress was designed by British designer Clare Waight Keller under the Givenchy label. The dress was made of silk with three-quarter-length sleeves, an open boat neckline, and a train with a built-in triple silk organza underskirt. It featured a "timeless minimal elegance", with sleek lines and sharp cuts that paid homage to the history of the Givenchy house. The dress was estimated to cost around $265,000, which Markle paid for herself.

Markle chose Waight Keller because she wanted to highlight the success of a leading British talent and because she admired the designer's elegant aesthetic and relaxed demeanour. The two worked closely together on the design, with Markle describing Waight Keller as someone who "completely respected what I wanted to see for the day". The dress was made in Paris by a small team of ateliers, with only five months to manufacture it. There were eight fittings, and the veil took longer to create than the dress itself, with embroiderers spending 500 hours completing it.

The veil was 5 metres (16 ft) long and featured a variety of hand-embroidered flowers on its hem, as well as symbolic sprays of wheat. The flowers included the California poppy, in honour of Markle's home state, and wintersweet, which grows at Kensington Palace. The veil also included flowers representing the 53 countries of the Commonwealth, reflecting the couple's interest in the work of the Commonwealth.

Markle also had a "something blue" stitched into her veil—a piece of blue fabric from the dress she wore on her first date with Prince Harry.

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