A High Price For The Most Important Day Of Your Life
Royal weddings are basically the Olympics of event planning: massive crowds, serious logistics, and price tags that can make your group chat go silent. Some totals are officially published, plenty are estimates, and a lot of the “cost” lives in things like security, gowns, jewels, restoration work, and week-long celebrations that are hard to itemize. Still, if you’ve ever wondered what “spared no expense” looks like when crowns are involved, here’s just a sneak peek.
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1. Burgundy’s Legendary Blowout
In 1468, Charles the Bold and Margaret of York pulled off a wedding celebration in Bruges that historians and modern list-makers still cite for its sheer scale and spending. The most eye-popping numbers you’ll see today are modern estimates that put the festivities in the “hundreds of millions” when adjusted for inflation, which tells you how over-the-top the whole production was. If you think your venue fee is bad, imagine hosting days of public spectacle designed to impress Europe.
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2. Abu Dhabi’s Seven-Day Party
Reports about Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed’s wedding to Princess Salama describe a multi-day celebration that has become a go-to example of modern royal extravagance. The figure most often repeated is an estimated $100 million USD, and the stories emphasize the scale, crowds, and sheer infrastructure involved.
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3. Dubai’s Stadium-Scale Celebration
The wedding of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Sheikha Hind is usually remembered for its sheer spectacle. Depending on the source, you’ll see estimates ranging from tens of millions at the time to totals that land much higher when people talk in today’s dollars.
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4. Charles and Diana’s Global Event
The 1981 wedding of King Charles III and Princess Diana has long been associated with enormous costs, once you factor in security and the scale of the public celebration. Estimates vary by source, but it’s usually placed between $140 and $170 million.
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5. Elizabeth and Philip’s Priceless Rarity
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip married in 1947, and one of the most cited “cost anchors” is her wedding gown: it’s been reported at about $42,000 USD at the time, which is often inflation-adjusted to around $1.6 million. If the dress alone was over a million dollars today, we can only imagine what the rest of the ceremony cost.
6. William and Kate’s High Security
Prince William and Catherine’s 2011 wedding is routinely listed among the most expensive because of security and public operations tied to an event of that size. Depending on how totals are calculated, estimates commonly land in the tens of millions.
7. Harry and Meghan’s Big Bill
The 2018 wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan is another one that’s regularly cited for major costs, especially around security. Some estimates place the total around £32 million, which tells you how quickly expenses climb when the whole world is watching. It’s also proof that “smaller than Westminster Abbey” still doesn’t mean “cheap.”
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8. Monaco’s Luxe Weekend
Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene’s 2011 wedding in Monaco is often estimated to have cost in the “tens of millions,” with some reports pushing it even higher. It was often described as the “biggest party in 55 years” for Monaco.
9. Felipe and Letizia’s Gold-Thread Details
King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia’s wedding is frequently described with a large overall estimate, and it also comes with a famously expensive gown. Letizia’s dress is often pegged at about $8 million USD, in part due to real gold embroidery. The ceremony as a whole cost around $25 million in 2004, about $42 million today.
10. Denmark’s Copenhagen Spectacle
Crown Prince Frederik and Mary’s 2004 wedding has been reported with totals that reach around $34 million USD. The wedding included a ceremony at Copenhagen Cathedral and a reception at Fredensborg Palace.
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11. Greece’s Designer-Heavy Guest List
Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece and Marie-Chantal Miller’s 1995 wedding cost about £8 million, and the details often highlight the scale and the high-end fashion choices involved. Marie’s wedding dress was designed by Valentino Garavani, a gorgeous number that cost well over $200,000 USD at the time.
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12. Eugenie’s Security Plus Sparkle
Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank’s 2018 wedding cost anywhere between £2.6 million and £3.5 million, with a very large portion of that money dedicated to the cost of security. Eugenie’s gown was also said to cost around $260,000 USD, a custom-made number by Peter Pilotto.
13. Andrew and Sarah’s Couture Price Tag
Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson’s 1986 wedding has one especially clear, widely repeated number: her dress, estimated at around $45,000 USD. The dress featured a 17-foot-long train and was designed by Lindka Cierach.
14. Edward and Sophie’s Quiet Luxury
Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones aimed for a more low-key royal wedding in 1999, but that doesn’t mean it still wasn’t pricey. One reported splurge is Sophie’s wedding jewelry set, estimated at around $35,000 at the time.
15. Sweden’s Restoration Costs
Crown Princess Victoria and Daniel’s 2010 wedding comes with unusually concrete numbers tied to the event itself. The wedding has been cited at around 20 million kronor, and there were additional restoration expenses for the cathedral reported at 12.4 million kronor. For reference, this would’ve cost around 4.5 million USD, which is about 6.70 million today.
16. Madeleine’s Million-Kronor Day
Princess Madeleine of Sweden and Christopher O’Neill’s wedding has been estimated at about 3 million kronor in some reports. That’s not a record-breaking wedding compared to the others on this list, but it certainly wasn’t a budget affair.
17. Japan’s Security-Driven Spending
Crown Prince Naruhito and Masako Owada’s 1993 wedding is often discussed with a specific focus on security costs. One report put security at about 1.7 billion yen, putting the total larger than the ceremony costs themselves. For reference, this would’ve been $15.3 million USD.
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18. Bhutan’s National-Scale Celebration
Bhutan’s royal wedding of King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Jetsun Pema is frequently described as a major national event with a reported multi-million-dollar price tag. Some estimates place it around $17 million USD, with attention on the scale of celebrations and the public nature of the occasion.
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19. Brunei’s Multi-Week Festivities
Princess Hafizah of Brunei’s 2012 wedding to Pengiran Anak Muhammad Ruzaini was a massive celebration. The week-long ceremony was held in the Istana Nurul Iman palace, and cost an estimated $20 million USD.
20. Brunei’s Palace-Style Finish
Prince Abdul Malik of Brunei’s and Dayangku Raabi'atul 'Adawiyyah Pengiran Haji Bolkiah’s 2015 wedding is another one that’s been widely cited with a very large estimate, sometimes around $30 million USD. It’s said that Dayangku wore a diamond-studded outfit and an emerald-encrusted jewelry set. It’s said that the ceremonies lasted over 10 days and hosted over 6,000 guests.
