Kensington Palace has confirmed that the royal family will be footing the bill for the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in May 2018. 

A statement from Prince Harry’s communication team said the royals will pay for the church service, associated music, flowers, decorations and the wedding reception.

“Prince Harry and Ms. Markle are leading the planning process for all aspects of the wedding,” the statement said. 

"As was the case with the wedding of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, The Royal Family will pay for the core aspects of the wedding, such as the church service, the associated music, flowers, decorations, and the reception afterwards.”

But British taxpayers could be expected to pick up the bill for security at the wedding, as was the case for Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding in 2011. 

Wedding planner Aimee Dunne, who specialises in luxury weddings, has estimated the cost of the wedding will be no less than £500,000.  

Venue

The wedding will take place at the historic St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, which is more intimate and low key than Westminster Abbey. 

St George’s Chapel can accommodate 800 guests, whereas the Abbey could seat 2,000 people for William and Kate's wedding in April 2011. 

Experts have said the location outside of London will help reduce costs because there will be smaller crowds and less roads will have to be closed off for the royal procession. 

Security

Although the wedding will not take place in London, the current terror threat is ‘severe’ meaning a terrorist attack is deemed "highly likely”. 

Given the threat level, the cost of security at the wedding of the year is estimated to be high.

An estimated 5,000 police officers guarded the public for the royal wedding in 2011 and the same number may be needed for next year’s wedding.

There are a varying estimates over how much security at Prince William and Kate’s wedding cost, from £7million to as much as £20million. 

But it is understood that the government provided police with a £3.6million grant to cover the cost of overtime pay for officers. 

The reception

The venue for the reception has yet to be announced by the happy couple, but if the couple want to keep costs down they could chose a venue owned by the Queen in Windsor.

In 2011, William and Kate had to have two separate receptions: a traditional lunch hosted by the Queen for over 600 guests, including dignitaries and officials, and a smaller evening party for roughly 300 friends and family. 

It’s unclear at this stage where Meghan and Harry will chose to have their wedding reception but Dunne said a cost of £150,000 upwards would be realistic for a guest list of 500 people.

The dress

A source told Express.co.uk that the Suits’ actress has had dress fittings at Erdem but did not elaborate on if it was for a wedding dress or a gown for another occasion.

Designer Erdem Moralıoğlu, who is British-Canadian, is a frontrunner to design Meghan’s dress, and the actress has previously been spotted in his designs, including at a wedding in Jamaica with Prince Harry.

Alexander McQueen designer Sarah Burton designed Kate Middleton, which had a bespoke intricate lace design with sheer sleeves. 

The cost of the dress has never been confirmed, but it is believed to have been in the region of £250,000.