Who will pick the Royal wedding tab - Prince William or Brit taxpayers?

LONDON - It is being said that Prince Charles will pick the tab for Prince Williams and Kate Middleton’s wedding, but the ceremony will still leave the taxpayer with a security tab of tens of millions of pounds as the rest of recession-hit Britain tightens its belt.

Kate’s parents, Michael and Carole, will not be asked to make a contribution. And Charles is expected to dig into his wealth from the Duchy of Cornwall estate, estimated to be worth 1 billion dollars, reports The Daily Mail.

Despite the ‘modest’ wedding next year, which could reach between 20 million pounds and 40 million pounds, taxpayers will still have to pay the enormous police bill.

But a senior courtier said, “Both the Prince of Wales and the Queen will contribute towards the cost of the wedding. It will be a family contribution. In particular, if the reception is held at Buckingham Palace, the Queen will pay for that.”

Professor Gary Slapper, a constitutional expert at the Open University, said, “Funding for the wedding could of course come from public funds, as the monarchy is a key part of our constitution.

“But the monarchy is dependent on public goodwill, and with all the talk of austerity, it will be difficult to suggest that a particularly extravagant wedding should be borne by the public. I would think their private wealth would be a more intelligent source of money. It would be much more likely to come from Prince Charles.”

The wedding will not be classed as a state occasion because William is not yet a direct heir to the throne, another reason why his family will be expected to pay out.

Charles is expected to offer to pay for the venue - Westminster Abbey - and the private wedding breakfast out of his private funds. But the source of the funding for a banquet for visiting heads of state remains unclear. (ANI)