Wealth and Finances of the Spanish Royal Family


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I remember the King getting the Game of Thrones box set which I'm sure gave him a laugh!
 
An Ard Ri said:
I remember the King getting the Game of Thrones box set which I'm sure gave him a laugh!
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That was Pablo Iglesias from Podemos, he told Felipe to watch it so that he “would understand the key points of the political crisis in Spain”.
 
Kitty1224 said:
Are they still today one of the cheapest royals?
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What is "cheapest royals"?
You mean the monarchy with the smallest budget?

Officialy: yes.
In reality: no.

Explanation:

The one state has a systematic in which all ALL costs which can be attributed to the functioning of the monarchy are recorded and presented as the prize tag for the monarchy.

The other state counts only the very direct costs for the functioning of the monarchy and labels this as the prize tag. For an example, the costs of security, the costs of the Patrimonio Nacional (the palaces), the costs of the use of ministerial departments, the costs of the use of the armed forces, etc. are not attriuted to the monarchy while in -for an example the Netherlands- this is done.

Result: the one country seems to have a sky high prize tag for the monarchy. The other country has a bargain, so to see. In reality we can say: the more transparency in the budget, the higher the costs...
 
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Duc_et_Pair said:
What is "cheapest royals"?
You mean the monarchy with the smallest budget?

Officialy: yes.
In reality: no.

Explanation:

The one state has a systematic in which all ALL costs which can be attributed to the functioning of the monarchy are recorded and presented as the prize tag for the monarchy.

The other state counts only the very direct costs for the functioning of the monarchy and labels this as the prize tag. For an example, the costs of security, the costs of the Patrimonio Nacional (the palaces), the costs of the use of ministerial departments, the costs of the use of the armed forces, etc. are not attriuted to the monarchy while in -for an example the Netherlands- this is done.

Result: the one country seems to have a sky high prize tag for the monarchy. The other country has a bargain, so to see. In reality we can say: the more transparency in the budget, the higher the costs...
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Okay Spanish monarchy has smallest budget as they should. Spain the country is in an economic mess.
 
Kitty1224 said:
Okay Spanish monarchy has smallest budget as they should. Spain the country is in an economic mess.
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The Spanish monarchy only has a small budget in theory. In reality the prize tag is three or four times more.

And: Spain is not at all in an economic mess. Spain is heading for its third consecutive year of economic growth of just over 3%, the fastest of any large economy in the Euro area.

Spain is now continental Europe’s second-biggest car producer and exporter after Germany. Tourism is booming, too. The country has diversified its exports into chemicals, pharmaceuticals, machinery and professional services.

https://www.economist.com/news/euro...aly-or-greece-spain-now-seeing-results-spains
 
Kitty1224 said:
Okay Spanish monarchy has smallest budget as they should. Spain the country is in an economic mess.
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Right now, not so much. In fact, I think Spain must be currently the fastest growing economy in Western Europe.
 
If security costs are included Spain apparently is (one of) the most expensive monarchy! As Duc_et_Pair explained, it is all cosmetics. If you move most costs to a different budget, it seems less expensive but if you would include all costs that are related to the functoning of the monarchy, the picture is completely different.

However, because countries treat this subject differently and most royal houses/governments prefer obscurity over clarity regarding the royal budget/costs, it is hard to compare.
 
Duc_et_Pair said:
The Spanish monarchy only has a small budget in theory. In reality the prize tag is three or four times more.

And: Spain is not at all in an economic mess. Spain is heading for its third consecutive year of economic growth of just over 3%, the fastest of any large economy in the Euro area.

Spain is now continental Europe’s second-biggest car producer and exporter after Germany. Tourism is booming, too. The country has diversified its exports into chemicals, pharmaceuticals, machinery and professional services.

https://www.economist.com/news/euro...aly-or-greece-spain-now-seeing-results-spains
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Spain’s fortunes have greatly oscillated over time. In the 16th century, it was probably the most powerful country in Europe, It remained a major world power until the 18th century at least. Then, throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, it experienced a period of steep decline, which culminated in the isolation of the Franco years. After joining the EC in the 1980s, Spain has been slowly regaining its status as a major European player. The 2009 crisis was only a temporary setback.
 
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Generally the budgets of the Royal Houses do not collect all the expenses, all have some expenses that depend on other departments. There are also real families who have tax benefits, or who receive aid to maintain their palaces that are private.

It is true that the real budget of the Spanish Royal House is divided by many departments... but at the same time that allows the general expenses of the State to be lower, because there are expenses that are shared.

For example, official airplanes or vehicles are from the State, and that allows them to be used by both the Government and the Royal House when necessary.

The palaces are from the State and depend on National Heritage, and with the exception of Zarzuela, all are permanently open to the public and operate as museums. So their expenses can not be applied to the Royal House that uses them very occasionally for official acts.
 
lula said:
Generally the budgets of the Royal Houses do not collect all the expenses, all have some expenses that depend on other departments. There are also real families who have tax benefits, or who receive aid to maintain their palaces that are private.

It is true that the real budget of the Spanish Royal House is divided by many departments... but at the same time that allows the general expenses of the State to be lower, because there are expenses that are shared.

For example, official airplanes or vehicles are from the State, and that allows them to be used by both the Government and the Royal House when necessary.

The palaces are from the State and depend on National Heritage, and with the exception of Zarzuela, all are permanently open to the public and operate as museums. So their expenses can not be applied to the Royal House that uses them very occasionally for official acts.
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That is correct but for an example in the Netherlands part of the Budget for the Department of Defense is filed under "The King" for the use of the armed forces (for ceremonial purposes, for guarding the palaces, etc.).

Part of the Budget of the Prime Minister's Office is filed under "The King" for the use of the State Information Service.

Part of the Budget of the Department of the Interior is filed under "The King" for the Cabinet of the King (the official secretariate of the King).

Part of the Budget of the Department of Transport is filed under "The King" for the use of the car fleet, the royal airplane and the royal train.

Etc. Etc. Etc.

Previously all these parts were "hidden" in all those separate departmental Budgets. But glued together, they give a transparant image of the REAL costs of the monarchy.

Apply the same to Spain and see how the "prize tag" quadruples...
 
Idk compare them to other monarchies. You don’t see Letizia wearing designer clothes often compared to Kate or Mary. They walk on eggshells in Spain.
 
Kitty1224 said:
Idk compare them to other monarchies. You don’t see Letizia wearing designer clothes often compared to Kate or Mary. They walk on eggshells in Spain.
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Not sure cost of clothing is quite relevant as they tend to be paid for privately rather than the state
 
Kitty1224 said:
Idk compare them to other monarchies. You don’t see Letizia wearing designer clothes often compared to Kate or Mary. They walk on eggshells in Spain.
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Every piece of textile is a designer cloth. Someone has designed it. Even my underwear.

:flowers:
 
Duc, there are some cases in which that is detailed, but in others it is very difficult.
 
muriel said:
Not sure cost of clothing is quite relevant as they tend to be paid for privately rather than the state
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One thing that I guess everybody can agree on is that the Spanish royal family is not privately wealthy as the British, Dutch, or even Swedish royal families. I am not so sure that clothing that is associated with ceremonial functions is always paid for privately, especially when one’s “private money” is to a large extent the apanage he gets from the State.
 
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Mbruno said:
One thing that I guess everybody can agree on is that the Spanish royal family is not privately wealthy as the British, Dutch, or even Swedish royal families.
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Agreed.

Mbruno said:
I am not so sure that clothing that is associated with ceremonial functions is always paid for privately, especially when one’s “private money” is to a large extent the apanage he gets from the State.
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My sense is (and I am sure things vary from country to country) that the appanage usually covers the costs of running the office of head of state, and the duties and events related to that. What each monarch chooses to do with the money and how it is allocated year to year is a matter between the monarch and Parliament, IMO.
 
Aside from hats and gloves, I see no real difference between Letizia and ladies as Mathilde, Mary or Máxima. All of them wear so many clothes. From casual to businesslike, lounge, formal and ceremonial clothes. In all cases the prize tag for clothing is peanuts in comparison with the costs of palaces, a Household, a secretariate, transportation and the whole rambam.
 
Why aren’t they privately as wealthy as the British, Dutch and Swedish?
 
Why aren’t they privately as wealthy as the British, Dutch and Swedish?
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Having been deposed, dispossessed and exiled, they were forced to use what little remained of their assets to live in exile..None of the Royal Houses you mention have been through that trauma.
 
The Spanish RF are not necessarily the cheapest Royal House, they just have the smallest budget. A lot of other costs are just passed on to other Government departments. For example in the Dutch and British RFs the cost of royal flights using military aircraft are stated as part of their budget, in the Spanish RF these costs are met by the Military and not stated.
Its not to say they aren't the cheapest, but at present we can't compare each RF as they way they show their costs is to different.
 
wyevale said:
Having been deposed, dispossessed and exiled, they were forced to use what little remained of their assets to live in exile..None of the Royal Houses you mention have been through that trauma.
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I think they have secret money somewhere.
 
Lee-Z said:
But with little proof of this, it's just an opinion and i don't think we can base their wealth on that?
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As you have little proof about them not being rich. Goes both ways!
 
Kitty1224 said:
Why aren’t they privately as wealthy as the British, Dutch and Swedish?
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From 1931 until 1975 the Spanish throne was vacant. The family had been exiled for decades. Many properties were confiscated and looted by republican governments. Lands were taken away and redistributed. You will understand thay this must have exhausted the private wealth of the Borbóns.
 
Kitty1224 said:
I think they have secret money somewhere.
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And your source for this? The same argument applies for both points of view. Do they have buckets of money or not - we don't know.
 
AdmirerUS said:
And your source for this? The same argument applies for both points of view. Do they have buckets of money or not - we don't know.
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So you are saying they wouldn't have invested privately?
 
:previous:
And you are saying that they do have money hidden??????????? Where could that be now, a Swiss bank account??????:lol:
 
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