Police in Windsor have confirmed they will be applying for extra cash from the Home Office to help cover the cost of the two royal weddings.

On Friday, Princess Eugenie will marry her fiance Jack Brooksbank at Windsor Castle, with Thames Valley Police responsible for the security operation around the event.

It comes just five months after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex wed in Windsor - it is estimated the cost of policing their big day was between £2 and £4m.

In a statement, Thames Valley Police's deputy police and crime commissioner Matthew Barber told Sky News: "The policing of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's wedding was a complicated operation involving a number of organisations and the cost incurred by Thames Valley and other forces has not yet been finalised.

"Once finalised, Thames Valley Police will release the information and we will submit a formal special grant request to the Home Office in due course."


Image: Eugenie and Jack will be married in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle

Thames Valley Police said they were unable to give an estimate of how much this week's wedding may cost the force.

They are used to regularly dealing with large royal events in Windsor; however, the decision to invite members of the public into the castle grounds and have a carriage procession for the bride and groom along Windsor High Street will increase the police resources needed.

Many senior members of the Royal Family will also attend the wedding at St George's Chapel.

Buckingham Palace confirmed the Royal Family will be personally paying for the wedding, including the reception, but said security is a matter for the police, so will not be paying policing costs.

Almost 40,000 people have signed a petition launched by Republic, the anti-monarchy campaign group, saying no public money should be spent on the wedding for the ninth in line to the throne.

Locals like Carole Da Costa, from the West Windsor Residents Association, say it's been difficult to find out who exactly is picking up the bill for policing it all, but knows ultimately it's down to the taxpayer.

She said: "I think we'd have to have a lot of tourism to recoup that kind of money, so I think that is something that needs to be debated in the future and we need to look at how those kind of costs would be covered."

Dani Beckett, from Republic, told Sky News that the secrecy has to stop: "The £2m that the public are being asked to spend on Eugenie's wedding costs is the tip of the iceberg - we know that we spend around £100m on royal security every single year. So if they go and visit a local town, the council there has to pay for the policing and security, and road closures... it's all coming out of the public purse.

"What I want the general public to be asking now is that the Royal Family finally come clean about what those costs are."

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Large crowds are expected to gather outside Windsor Castle on Friday, with around 1,000 people inside the castle grounds.

Thames Valley Police say they will have a significant security operation in place and people will see an increased number of armed and unarmed police officers on patrol.

Meanwhile, the Home Office said it is working with Thames Valley Police to support the policing operation.

"The Thames Valley police and crime commissioner has not applied for special grant funding at this point, but any such application will be considered carefully," a spokesperson said.