The Security Bill for Princess Eugenie’s Wedding is £2 million

[Butteredparsn1ps]

And it is coming out of the public purse.

Excellent opinion piece by Libby Purves in today’s Times pointing out that this extravaganza will have an impact on real people and actual crime.

Does the silly Bridezilla really think her Wedding is as interesting as Meghan and Harry’s? If she wants to copy their Wedding, she needs to pay for it.

[SusannahL]

This is dreadful, isn't it?
Why the hell should the taxpayer, ie us, pay for this pampered spoilt young woman's wedding?

Apparently Prince Andrew was adamant she should have the whole works. Well ok, but why couldn't he pay for it?

These two sisters are a joke. They seem to spend more time on holiday than at work, and as for that ridiculous 'poor us' interview in Vogue magazine - well words fail me.

[Butteredparsn1ps]

www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/comment/a-right-royal-display-of-tactless-ostentation-m3b5l59n7 link here

I wasn’t aware of the Vogue article - but I agree. Silly, spoiled young woman.

[MissEliza]

It shows a flagrant disregard for public opinion. It also shows they clearly have no idea how unpopular the princesses are if they think the public want to see them in an open top carriage.

[HerRoyalNotness]

I think this is a nasty thread. It’s about 3p per person.

[WhatWouldCoachBombayDo]

I have images of her and him being in that carriage and literally nobody lining the streets till they turn a corner to go up a grassy long path and one man is there, bending down with a plastic bag over his hand picking up his dogs shit, and he awkwardly waves at them with his spare hand, and his yapping dog barks at them 😂

But in all seriousness, it's ridiculous. They do no royal public engagements and are not popular or liked. Why should the public support them, let alone pay for them?!

[QuoadUltra]

It isn’t a wedding cost though, like flowers or a dress.

It’s to protect her and her guests from nutters and voyeurs who want to cause violence and hurt. As this is violence isn’t personal to her but is basically aimed at the country, there is an argument that the country should protect her.

Obviously, this isn’t going to be a popular opinion. I’m off now so you can revert to a thread where everyone agrees that they are feckless sponging sisters etc.

[MarthasGinYard]

'I have images of her and him being in that carriage and literally nobody lining the streets till they turn a corner to go up a grassy long path and one man is there, bending down with a plastic bag over his hand picking up his dogs shit, and he awkwardly waves at them with his spare hand, and his yapping dog barks at them 😂'

[Deafdeafdeath]

Why is it nasty? Why are we not allowed an opinion?

The York’s need to take a leaf out of Anne and Zara’s book. This whole blood princess nonsense is a load of shite.

[Deafdeafdeath]

It’s to protect her and her guests from nutters and voyeurs who want to cause violence and hurt.

I don’t grudge them that at all, I do grudge her insisting on the bloody carriage ride. Without it the cost would be 750k, with its 2m.

[Timefortea99]

3p per person that could be better spent on improving policing in this country. We seem to have a crime epidemic at the moment, and police numbers have been cut. I deeply resent these two getting 1p spent on them. Their entitled dad and freeloading ma can pay for it. Anne made sure her kids were not titled. Airmile Andy on the other hand wants it all. Nobody is going to be interested. It is insulting to think that we should pay for this.

[Butteredparsn1ps]

It's 2 million pounds that won't be spent investing crime.

It's an amount of money that would pay for a lot of community officers to prevent burglary, domestic violence and more serious crime.

And I agree that there will be no crowds anyway.

[Permaexhaustion]

I wish her well.
But this would be a tiny fraction of her dad's wealth- why isn't he paying?

[MissEliza]

Eugenie wouldn't need protecting if she had a normal wedding like her cousin Zara. Also it's not a nasty thread. Eugenie doesn't deserve a big taxpayer funded wedding procession any more than you or me. She's already lucky to have Granny providing a beautiful venue for free.
Cuts to essential services are being made up and down the country. I'm sure lots of police forces would welcome an extra £2 million if it's going spare.

[Enidblyton1]

Don’t be so miserable! £2m may sound like a lot, but it really is fairly insignificant in policing terms.

I’m not particularly interested in the wedding, but there will be thousands of people who are.

[WhatWouldCoachBombayDo]

Yes it's the carriage ride that is costing us! A police officer needs to be present every 5 yards!

If it were just to protect the royals it would cost the same as Zara Phillips wedding at roughly £750k which is fair enough as she can't help who her family are, and can't not invite them.

But this is just ridiculous pomp and ceremony for a princess nobody really cares about.

[Enidblyton1]

But I agree with pp that Andrew should pay for this. I don’t understand why he doesn’t get better PR advice (or maybe he just doesn’t listen?!)

[ParkheadParadise]

WhatWouldCoachBombayDo

I have images of her and him being in that carriage and literally nobody lining the streets till they turn a corner to go up a grassy long path and one man is there, bending down with a plastic bag over his hand picking up his dogs shit, and he awkwardly waves at them with his spare hand, and his yapping dog barks at them😂

😂😂😂

[Butteredparsn1ps]

I’m not particularly interested in the wedding, but there will be thousands of people who are.

I really doubt it.

Harry & Meghan drew a crowd, and I imagine brought a boost to GDP through tourism and alcohol sales. Eugenie doesn’t have that star-power and I can only see the carriage ride being watched by a handful of the most ardent royal fans.

I wish her well, but I feel deeply resentful about the cost of security for an unnecessary carriage ride just so she can do what Meghan did.

[meditrina]

It probably wouldn't have been spent on detecting or investigating crime.

The VIPs there who receive police protection would have received it anyhow, and that's a major part of the bill. Then there is traffic/crowd management - I'm not sure how the headline figure breaks down between those two aspects

[MissEliza]

I think you will get some royal diehards watching and Windsor gets its fair share of tourists who will probably enjoy the show, plus passing nosey parkers. However the crowds will be nothing remotely like Meghan and Harry. I'm positive about that. As someone who shops quite frequently in Windsor, I'm actually pissed off at the thought of the road closures for nothing.
Do you think Fergie will insist on joining the procession in a carriage behind the bride and groom?

[argumentativefeminist]

IMO if you like/want some of the Royal Family, you've got to have them all. Either abolish it or put up with it. But if you abolish it, they will still be celebrities anyway, with the associated security costs.

[TwistedStitch]

It's a bit odd after they did an interview bemoaning people being unkind to them that they choose to do something that is likely to ramp that up considerably. Don't they have PR advisors? Although I thought Meghan and Harry's was also ridiculously over the top after complaining about press intrusion.

[ajandjjmum]

I am a big supporter of the Royal Family but think this is ridiculous, and would imagine it's at Andrew's instigation.

Apparently the wedding is not being televised, which shows that it has little public appeal.

Of course, there would need to be security for the service, to protect everyone, but to go on a carriage ride around Windsor is rather pathetic IMHO. Andrew should certainly pay for that part of the security provision.

This particular part of the family seem to plan what they can do to alienate people!

[Butteredparsn1ps]

meditrina I agree that there needs to be security for the senior Royals and the venues. It’s the totally unnecessary carriage ride out to the Great Park and back that I can’t support. Allegedly this vanity ride has increased the security bill from 750k to 2 million.

If she wants a long carriage ride, she should pay the security bill.

[DeltaG]

It's actually disgustingly obscene when you take a step back and consider it for a moment. A member of one of the wealthiest families on the planet, with more than ample means to pay themselves, is using the money of the ordinary 'little' people to pay for their extravaganza. It really is like something out of a kid's evil fairy tale.

Mind you, I am in favour the French treatment for royalty, especially feckless parasites like Eugenie and her sister.