How much the Royal wedding cost the national exchequer?
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LONDON - Thousands of people lined up in the streets of Windsor in England to get a glimpse of the so-called royal wedding between Prince Harry and US actress Meghan Markle amid criticism over the extravagant spending.
The ceremony was held Saturday at Windsor Castle, the favored residence of Harry’s grandmother Queen Elizabeth II, West of London, presstv reported.
More than 2,000 members of the public attended the celebrations. However, many Britons are upset about the huge money involved in the ceremony, especially for maintaining security by snipers, undercover police, military technology, and security drones.
The wedding has been estimated to cost British taxpayers a staggering $45 million (32 million pounds) by wedding planning service Bridebook and American news website Business Insider.
A recent YouGov poll showed 57 percent of respondents wanted the royal family to pay for such costs.
The wedding came as the country is facing multiple crises, including a sharp rise in the number of rough sleepers.
About 1,000 protesters arrived Friday in Windsor on the eve of the wedding to take part in a rally aimed at raising awareness of homelessness in Britain.
Recent reports of police removing belongings from homeless people near Windsor Castle have sparked criticism, with many on social media calling the approach “shameful”.
The Windsor homeless population controversy made national headlines in January when Windsor city council leader Simon Dudley warned beggars and homeless could paint the town in a “sadly unfavorable light”.
There has been a rapid rise in homelessness in Britain. The number of people living on the streets of the UK has increased by 134 percent since the Conservative Party came to power in 2010, according to the National Audit Office.