William & Kate's Wedding Fund Raises $1.7 Million for Charity

The public didn't just open their hearts to Prince William and Kate Middleton this spring. They opened their wallets – to the tune of $1.7 million raised for charity by the Royal Wedding Charitable Gift Fund.

William and Kate set up the fund so that anyone who wished to send them a wedding gift could instead donate to the couple's chosen charities. In the end, the fund took in a grand total of £1,058,367 – or $1,706,828 – according to Buckingham Palace.

The funds included direct donations, as well as revenue raised from wedding-related projects. The latter included a donation by Decca Records from sales of the official Royal Wedding Album, and a donation made by Mario Testino's office from sales of the photograph of the couple printed in the official wedding brochure.

The 26 charities that will benefit from the fund were grouped into particular areas: Changing Lives through Arts and Sport; Children Fulfilling Their Potential; Help and Care at Home; Support for Service Personnel and Their Families; and Conservation for Future Generations.

The funds will be distributed among the charities by the Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry.