'Royal Parasites': Activists, Citizens Protest the Elites' $42M Royal Wedding As Population Faces Austerity

As the British monarchy celebrated another royal wedding and mainstream media dedicated countless hours of coverage to the elaborate spectacle brought to you by taxpayers’ money, Europe’s Republican parties came together in the convention of the Alliance of European Republican Movements in Central London.

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Republican campaigners from around Europe, including Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden discussed the continental movement to get rid of the monarchies across the continent.

Ahead of the wedding Republic, the United Kingdom-based group that organized the convention published a public opinion survey that revealed 57 percent of the 1,615 people surveyed “believe the Royals should pay the full cost of the wedding, including the cost of policing and security.” The poll, which was carried out by YouGov, also found that 76 percent of people were against the use of taxpayers money for the event. 

BrideBook.co.uk estimates the wedding cost at approximately US$42 million, US$40 of which will cover security costs that are paid directly by taxpayers.

Many disagree with the people paying for a lavish event for the elites, especially in the United Kingdom, which has implemented a hash program of austerity that as affected essential public services for the many.  

According to Canary, a local independent newspaper, the wedding could’ve paid for 6 million three-day emergency food packages or 3,000 training programs for nurses who since 2017 have to pay over US$12,000 in tuition fees due to budget cuts to the National Health Service. Some have even pointed to the fact that Meghan Markle's dress, which cost upwards of £300,000, eclipsed the cost of the additional funds needed for the Grenfell Tower were 72 lives that were lost in a fire last year.

So far 33,500 people have signed a petition demanding openness and transparency around the wedding’s finances. The petition also argues “if the Royals want to turn a private wedding into a public PR exercise, they need to pay.”

But the cost isn't the only reason the wedding has faced public backlash. Since the wedding's date and the location were announced, city council leader Simon Dudley, and others have been on a harsh campaign against London's homeless population claiming that their presence on the streets could paint the city in a “sadly unfavorable light.” Some even campaigned to have the urged police use their powers to remove them before the wedding.

Friday night dozens of protesters descended on Windsor for a #RoyalSleepOver to protest the targeting of homeless people and raise awareness on the issue.

According to the National Audit Office, the U.K. has witnessed a rapid rise in homelessness, which has increased by 134% since the Conservative Party came to power in 2010. Opposition politicians link the increase on severe cuts to public spending.

Citizen outage also echoed from past and present British colonies.

Australian human rights campaigner and anti-monarchist Peter Tatchell described the wedding as “escapist nonsense; a real-life soap opera for people who fantasize about fame, riches, status and fairy-tale romance.”

While two Irish groups, Anti-Imperialist Action Ireland and Irish Socialist Republicans protested the royal wedding in a town near Dublin arguing those who participate in the media-created frenzy will be celebrating “the ongoing occupation of six Irish Counties and Britain’s normalization strategy in Ireland.”