The Royal Finances

[sirhon11234]

Honestly, Andrew couldn't pay $300,000 out of his own pocket.

[Iluvbertie]

Originally Posted by sirhon11234

Honestly, Andrew couldn't pay $300,000 out of his own pocket.

Why should he?

He doesn't own St James' Palace, the government does.

The apartment in question had been lived in by one tenant for a number of years and like any other landlord they needed to refurbish before allowing another tenant in.

Had the new tenant been someone other than Beatrice the cost would have still been there but it wouldn't have been news.

This is just the sort of thing that bugs me with many British people and their monarchy. They want the pomp and circumstance and would complain if it wasn't there but aren't prepared to pay anything to support that e.g. Andrew isn't paid by the government for the job he does. He should be getting the same salary as any other British Ambassador rather than be supported by his mother. However, many British (but not all) don't want to acknowledge that to have a royal family means that the individuals concerned also need to have an income but they object when they take on 'jobs' because that means they are cashing in on their royal connections but they aren't prepared to pay them to do 'royal' activities.

[RoyalistRiley]

The Royal Finances were released the other day and can be viewed here : Annual Financial Reports . Apparently the Monarchy only costs 69p per citizen per year, or approx AUD1.40. I don't see why people make such a fuss about the expense of having a monarchy when it brings so much to so many.

[Skydragon]

The Queen pays less council tax to live in Buckingham Palace than a family in a suburban semi, the Mail can reveal.
The Queen pays the tax on the most prestigious address in the country to Westminster City Council, which has the second lowest rates in the country.
That means the annual bill for herself and Prince Philip is £1,375.24 a year - £400 cheaper than the average bill for families living neighbouring boroughs

The Queen's £1,375 council tax bill (that's £400 cheaper than her neighbours in the next borough) | Mail Online

We have been subject this week to familiar obtuse complaints about the funding of the Royal family, because our beloved Queen has sought an increase in the Civil List.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/c...ging-bowl.html

[yvr girl]

Charging the Queen rent is silly. What other Head of State pays rent for their official residence?

Most of them redecorate when they first move in, to the tune of thousands and thousands of dollars.

The Queen is a pretty good bargain as far as Head of States go.

[Skydragon]

Originally Posted by yvr girl

Charging the Queen rent is silly. What other Head of State pays rent for their official residence?

Gee, you think? What other head of state doesn't pay all taxes and is virtually guaranteed a job for life?

[Warren]

Well, there's no provision for retirement in her employment contract.

[AuroraB]

Originally Posted by Skydragon

The Queen pays less council tax to live in Buckingham Palace than a family in a suburban semi, the Mail can reveal.
The Queen pays the tax on the most prestigious address in the country to Westminster City Council, which has the second lowest rates in the country.
That means the annual bill for herself and Prince Philip is £1,375.24 a year - £400 cheaper than the average bill for families living neighbouring boroughs

The Queen's £1,375 council tax bill (that's £400 cheaper than her neighbours in the next borough) | Mail Online

We have been subject this week to familiar obtuse complaints about the funding of the Royal family, because our beloved Queen has sought an increase in the Civil List.

The Queen is getting out her begging bowl - Telegraph

Try living in the Chicagoland area. Original fair market value of my 2 bed condo was approx 97,373 pounds and the property taxes are approx 2,327 pounds.

[rchat]

Originally Posted by Skydragon

...What other head of state doesn't pay all taxes ... ?

American President's don't pay taxes and I believe that's for the rest of their lives.

[wbenson]

Originally Posted by rchat

American President's don't pay taxes and I believe that's for the rest of their lives.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/04/11/bush.taxes/

President and Mrs. George W. Bush reported taxable income of $719, 274 for the tax year 2007 and paid $221,635 in federal income taxes, the White House said Friday.

[Skydragon]

There are plans for the Queen to have use of her own jet. The cost would be £3 million but the motive is thrift, since the ageing RAF aircraft on which the Royal family relies are often unavailable or being mended. Last year this meant that the Royal family had to spend £193,000 chartering flights

The Queen's flight - Telegraph

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...-3m-plane.html

The Queen is to have her own £3 million private jet under revived plans to try to cut the spiralling Royal Family travel bill, The Daily Telegraph can disclose

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/news...n-revived.html

[Skydragon]

Originally Posted by Iluvbertie

Had the new tenant been someone other than Beatrice the cost would have still been there but it wouldn't have been news.

There may have been some costs but I doubt it would have been £250,000 - £300,000.

This is just the sort of thing that bugs me with many British people and their monarchy. They want the pomp and circumstance and would complain if it wasn't there but aren't prepared to pay anything to support that .

I wonder if most would, it tends to be the tourists and short stay visitors who go to the majority of palaces/events.

[ada]

IMO, the royal family as a whole, GIVES more than it GETS

[Skydragon]

Following the global slowdown and economic crisis, Queen Elizabeth II is determined to switch from the LPG-fuelled black cab to an environmentally friendly car service to save money.

http://business.rediff.com/report/20...omato-cars.htm

[Skydragon]

The Queen's Crown Estate property empire has been hit by the credit crunch after more than £1billion was wiped from the value of assets - the first decline since 1993.

Queen's property empire slumps by a staggering £1bn due to recession | Mail Online

[ada]

3 million pounds for plane for Queen All very well to say HM's plane can be smaller because her retinue is smaller than the PM, but a larger plane is much more comfortable.

[wbenson]

The Danish Royal Family does not have its own plane but Queen Anne-Marie has a yacht, Dannebrog, which is used extensively in the summer months.

Did they confuse names? Why would Anne-Marie have Dannebrog?

3 million pounds is pretty cheap as far as private jets go. The only think I wonder is if it will significantly lower the amount spent on charters, as I don't think a lower-end private jet will have the range for intercontinental flights.

[Skydragon]

Originally Posted by wbenson

Did they confuse names? Why would Anne-Marie have Dannebrog?

I don't think they were confused, perhaps the wording left a little to be desired. Anne-Marie is the youngest daughter of Queen Ingrid & King Frederick of Denmark, her older sister is Queen Margrethe of Denmark, so her sister probably lends her the yacht.

[Warren]

Originally Posted by Skydragon

The Queen's Crown Estate property empire has been hit by the credit crunch after more than £1billion was wiped from the value of assets - the first decline since 1993.

Maybe it reflects the different mix of properties but it's interesting to note that the value of the Duchy of Cornwall rose while the value of the Crown Estate fell.

[rmay286]

Originally Posted by RoyalistRiley

The Royal Finances were released the other day and can be viewed here : Annual Financial Reports . Apparently the Monarchy only costs 69p per citizen per year, or approx AUD1.40. I don't see why people make such a fuss about the expense of having a monarchy when it brings so much to so many.

Really? that's all! From the criticism the royal family gets from the media, you would think it was much more.

I believe the royal family could cut costs in places and that the figures they spend each year are quite high, but the royals are also expected to provide pomp and pageantry and to do a lot of traveling. I'm impressed that they can do all that at such a relatively low cost per British citizen.

The more I read British media reports criticizing the royal family, the more I think that the media deliberately creates headlines to make it look like everyone in the royal family other than possibly the Queen, Prince Philip and Princess Anne, wastes more taxpayer money than they actually do. Sometimes I do read a story and think that money was wasted or someone made a bad decision, but often I think the media skews their stories to make it seem as though members of the royal family have a huge amount of personal wealth and should be paying for everything out of their own pocket, even if the expense is something that would normally be paid by the government because it relates to the upkeep of the monarchy as an institution--for instance, St. James' Palace. It's really hard for the royal family to win.