Bodyguards’ £40 outfits for Royal wedding

Many guests at the Royal wedding spent thousands of pounds on dazzling frocks and striking hats but the police bodyguards who attended the service were kitted out for less than £40.

Scotland Yard’s royalty protection officers wore smart suits and dresses to blend in with the dignitaries and celebrities at Westminster Abbey for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s big day.

The Metropolitan Police revealed that the cost of their outfits for the occasion was just £39.95 on top of the clothes they are provided with for regular formal events.

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The Duchess’s personal protection officer, Sergeant Emma Probert, had a prominent position in the procession, sitting in the front passenger seat of the Rolls-Royce Phantom VI that carried the bride and her father to the abbey.

As the world got its first glimpse of the bride’s dress, which is said to have cost £40,000, Ms Probert looked elegant but unobtrusive in a black jacket over a knee-length floral patterned dress topped with a black and white hat.

Scotland Yard said in response to a Freedom of Information request: “Metropolitan Police royalty protection officers are provided with clothing appropriate to the roles they perform and the events they attend, eg Royal Ascot and the Derby.

“This clothing is used at more than a single event and is only replaced when unfit for service.”

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The statement added: “In respect of the Royal wedding, the clothing worn by protection officers was that which had been previously supplied in the normal course of their duties, apart from an additional cost of £39.95.”

The force did not say what the money was spent on.