The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge recently welcomed their third child, Prince Louis, into the world, but the excitement isn’t over yet for the English royal family. Later this month, Prince Harry will marry American actress Meghan Markle, breaking several traditions on the way.

The wedding will take place in St. George’s Chapel on Saturday, May 19. One difference between the upcoming event and previous weddings is that Saturday royal weddings are rather non-traditional. Usually, they occur on weekdays, and the British populace takes the day off to celebrate the new addition to the royal family. However, for Prince Harry’s wedding, pub hours (which are restricted by the government) will likely be extended later into the night to facilitate public festivities.

St. George’s Chapel only has a seating capacity of about 800 – over a thousand fewer people than the number that attended the Duke of Cambridge’s marriage to Kate Middleton. Among those invited to the ceremony are charity workers and local schoolchildren, but the ceremony will not be a state event, so global political figures are strictly not invited. Most notably, the Trumps and Obamas will not be attending. Though Prince Harry is good friends with the latter couple, his bride-to-be has strongly criticized the former, so the move is most likely to avoid political controversy and sticky situations on the wedding day.

The ceremony is expected to cost about $45.8 million. Most of the bill is for the royal couple’s security, which includes undercover police officers, snipers, and drone surveillance. However, the music, decorations, invitations, and catering will cost several hundred thousand dollars each, and the lemon elderflower cake alone will be nearly twice the cost of the average British wedding. The excessive cost is attracting some criticism. “It’s spending a whole bunch of public money for one group of super-elite… if they’re going to spend $46 million on something, shouldn’t it be something that serves a diplomatic purpose?” said Noah Penasack ‘20.

Overall, many HBHS students feel that the royal affairs aren’t always worth spending millions of dollars for and that even figurehead monarchs are an abuse of democracy. “I don’t know much about [the royal family], but I don’t think they’re necessary,” said Carolyn Dolfini ‘20. Several interviewees felt that such a high price tag was alarming, and may be indicative that the whole system of English monarchy has a giant cost without benefit to British taxpayers.

However, despite the glaring political issues accompanying the wedding, most still think it’s harmless to pay attention to the details and live vicariously through the royal couple. “Right now, I’m teaching a lesson on monarchy and the French Revolution,” said Christina Ellis, a history teacher at HBHS. “Monarchy as a government system is kind of doomed to fail, but princesses are still fun.”

The wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will certainly be an exciting event, both for British citizens and international fans. Even monarchy abolitionists admit that there is a certain electric anticipation in the air for the reveal of the wedding dress and more wedding-related details. After all, weddings are a happy occasion, and despite political controversy, everyone can celebrate.