How Much Was Princess Beatrice’s Wedding Compared To Princess Eugenie, Kate Middleton & Meghan Markle?

Princess Beatrice is officially a married woman!

After her initial plans to wed Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi on May 29 were put on hold due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, the oldest daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York, married her now-husband in a private ceremony on Friday in Windsor. Royal reps confirmed the news and stated that the pair were privately wed July 17 and that Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip and other close members of the family were in attendance.

The couple’s initial wedding plans were meant to be carried out on a smaller scale than the most recent royal weddings, though the pandemic forced those plans to change. Still, while their wedding was a private event and included a small reception (it is unclear if the pair will eventually hold a larger reception when it is safe to do), there may have been some costs involved that could still be surprising since Beatrice is a member of the royal family.

Here’s every detail we know so far about her wedding and what it might have cost (and what her sister, Princess Eugenie, and cousins-in-law, Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle are estimated to have spent on their own weddings).

Flowers:

According to People Magazine, Beatrice’s bouquet consisted of trailing jasmine, pale pink and cream sweet peas, royal porcelain ivory spray roses, pink O'Hara garden roses, pink waxflower and baby pink astilbe, with the traditional sprigs of myrtle. It’s unclear if florals featured outside of the All Saint’s Chapel in the official wedding photos were also a part of the day’s expenses, but the bouquet was made by Patrice Van Helden, the co-owner of RVH Floral Design.

The same designer also created Princess Eugenie’s bouquet for her October 2018 nuptials to Jack Brooksbank. The cost of that arrangement, featuring Lily of the Valley, Stephanotis pips, baby blue thistles, white spray roses and trailing ivy, as well as décor consisting of roses, spray roses, hydrangeas, dahlias, berries and four giant maple trees, was never officially priced, but was believed to have cost less than what was spent on flowers for Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s May 2018 nuptials and Prince William and Kate Middleton’s April 2011 wedding. Estimates had the Duke and Duchess of Sussex spending $150,000 on their flowers, while $800,000 was expected to have been spent on the florals for the future King and Queen Consort’s affair.

Dress:

While it was believed initially that Beatrice may have worn a Caroline Castigliano gown that she had initially chosen for her May wedding that could have cost as much as £20,000 ($25,137 USD), the official photos show her actual ensemble for the event, and while she may be a Princess, she appears to have chosen frugality when it came to her wedding dress. While royal brides always are given loner tiaras from the royal collection to wear on their big days, Beatrice took things one step further and also sported a loaner gown from her grandmother-a vintage ivory Peau de Soie taffeta dress by Norman Hartnell.

While Beatrice didn’t pay anything for her gown, other royal brides certainly shelled out large sums of money for their own wedding day ensembles. Princess Eugenie’s Peter Pilotto and Christopher De Vos gown was estimated to cost at least $135,000. Kate Middleton reportedly paid $434,000 for her Sarah Burton for Alexader McQueen gown.

Royal protocol accounts that brides who have a lower placement in line for the throne are not supposed to where more expensive gowns than those who rank higher, but Meghan Markle was believed to have broken that rule with her custom Givenchy by Clare Waight Keller gown, which was reportedly $508,000.

Security:

Security costs are usually among the heftiest price tag at royal weddings, but it is unlikely it was a huge expense for the Bride and Groom (or the UK taxpayers) due to the nature of the private event, as well as Beatrice’s place in line for the throne. While some security expenses were likely tallied up because of the Queen’s presence, because the event was private, it likely didn’t go as high as the more public royal weddings.

Because she ranked lower than her cousins, Eugenie’s security costs were expected to be about £2 Million. However, Meghan and Harry’s wedding likely had a £30 Million security price tag because their guest list not only included the royal family, but also Hollywood A-listers. As for Prince William and Kate Middleton, their security figure likely topped out at £32 million.