Tag Archives: Finances

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Day in History: 350 years since Charles II sold Dunkirk to France

  October 22, 2012 at 7:33 pm by

350 years ago Charles II sold Dunkirk to France for approximately £400,000.  It was a hugely unpopular move that was influenced by financial and political needs. The port, although a valuable strategic outpost, was a huge drain on the King’s financial resources. However, there can be no doubt that even a greater motive was the vital need to forge closer relationships with France. Dunkirk was essentially a liability to the … Continue reading →

Posted in France, Historical Royals, The United Kingdom | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

British Royal Family No Longer The Most “Expensive” In Europe

  July 21, 2012 at 11:01 am by

For many years, British Monarchy was considered to be the most expensive in Europe based on the amount the Head of State receives from the taxpayers. However, that distinction now belongs to the Dutch Royal Family, which overtook the British one this year. Professor Herman Matthijs of Ghent University has published a report on the costs of European Heads of State. In it, he notes that according to a very … Continue reading →

Posted in The United Kingdom | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Spainish Royal Family Takes Another Pay Cut

  July 19, 2012 at 9:12 am by

Madrid – July 18th, 2012 The Spanish Royal Court has announced that the King and Prince of Asturias are to have their salaries cut by 7.1 percent. In another move to reduce the Royal budget, expenses claimed by other members of the Royal Family will also be cut. The Royal budget for 2012 was set at around €8.3, which is down 2% from 2011 and overall quite small compare to … Continue reading →

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Belgian Royals Commemorate Dead in Laeken

  February 16, 2012 at 9:39 am by

Earlier today in Laeken, the Belgian Royal Family were present at the annual mass commemorating the deceased members of the family. The mass took place at the Church of Our Lady of Laeken (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwkerk in Dutch, Eglise Notre-Dame in French). The entire royal family was present – King Albert II and Queen Paola, their children and their spouses, Queen Fabiola, who was accompanied by Princess Margaretha of Liechtenstein, Princess Léa … Continue reading →

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King Albert II: Freeze Royal Family Grants

  January 11, 2012 at 2:57 am by

In a statement released by the Belgian Royal Court on Monday, HM King Albert II has stated that he will accept a freeze on the royal family’s grants from the government for 2012 and 2013, as the nation tries to cope with the current economic climate in the European Union. “The 2012 budget on grants to members of the royal family should be frozen, and should therefore include any indexation … Continue reading →

Posted in Belgium | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Less than a Month to the Swedish Royal Wedding!

  May 28, 2010 at 1:43 am by

There is less than a month to go until the June 19th nuptials of Crown Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling at the Storkyrkan in Stockholm, and details surrounding the wedding are slowly being revealed. The Royal Wedding Monogram Both the Crown Princess and her fiancé have celebrated their respective bachelorette and bachelor parties, arranged by their close friends. Daniel celebrated his on May 8th, at the Stallmästaregården restaurant in Haga … Continue reading →

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Queen Beatrix Will Pay For Extra Maintenance Costs Sailing Boat

  May 12, 2010 at 12:18 pm by

Queen Beatrix will pay the extra maintenance costs for her sailing boat the ‘Groene Draeck’ herself. This was reported yesterday by RTL news, and confirmed by the RVD (the government information service). The queen received the boat upon her 18th birthday in 1956 as a gift from the Dutch people. The gift also inculded the maintenance costs of the boat, which was provided for by the ministery of Defence for … Continue reading →

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Trouble in Maoridom

  March 14, 2010 at 5:14 pm by

The Maori King, Tuheitia Paki, has been told to reveal his spending and that of his staff. The Tainui, the tribal Maori parliament, has demanded His Highness open his books to dispel rumours of mishandling funds. The Maori King lives on an annual budget of $1.2 million NZD, which is more than four times the amount his mother’s, the late beloved Maori Queen, budget of $250,000 NZD. Though the King … Continue reading →

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Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s Rotana to Sell Stake to News Corp

  February 27, 2010 at 3:51 am by

News Corp has agreed to buy a 9.09% stake in Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s Rotana television and media empire for $70m (£45m), marking its first major investment in the Middle East. Rotana, which hosts News Corp’s Fox channels in Saudi Arabia, owns the rights to more than 2,000 Arabic movies and the world’s largest Arabic language music library. News Corp has the option to increase its holding to … Continue reading →

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Spanish millionaire leaves fortune to Felipe and Letizia

  January 20, 2010 at 9:42 am by

We could say that the Prince and Princess of Asturias are quite fortunate. Not only because they are royals (which sometimes can be an advantage), and because they love their work and their family, but also because they are quite wealthy. Now, that wealth might get even greater as a Spanish tycoon, Juan Ignacio Balada Llabrés, who died last year, left his fortune which is valued in almost 30 million … Continue reading →

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Lower Dotations for Belgian Royals

  January 5, 2010 at 12:45 pm by

The economic crisis also hit the royal court in Brussels, as for the first time in the history of the Belgian royal family, the royal dotations will be lowered during the term of a present government. For 2010, the dotations of members of the royal family will decrease by 2,67%, for 2011 this number will be decreased by 4,01%. This means that next year prince Philippe will have 85.000 Euros … Continue reading →

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Mathilde’s Family Settles Financial Disagreement

  September 25, 2009 at 6:31 pm by

After 26 years, the feud between the d’Udekem d’Acoz family finally has been settled. The feud started 26 years ago when Mathilde’s paternal grandmother, countess Suzanne d’Outryve d’Ydewalle, died. The devision of the family fortune started fierce discussions and disagreements between her sons Henri, Raoul and Patrick, Mathilde’s father. ‘The properties and money have been devided fairly. The lawsuits are over’, count Henri d’Udekem d’Acoz told the Flemish press. He … Continue reading →

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King Albert still on spending spree

  September 20, 2009 at 2:48 pm by

It hasn’t been a good summer for King Albert’s image. After all the controversy surrounding the acquisition of a new yacht, registering it in Italy and avoiding to pay taxes to both the Belgian and the Italian government by registering the yacht as a military vessel, the finances of King Albert II of Belgium have again come under severe criticism. Royalty watcher Kathy Pauwels had the opportunity to see papers … Continue reading →

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Belgian Yacht Controversy Continues

  September 4, 2009 at 5:39 pm by

The controversy surrounding the purchase of a new yacht by the Belgian King and Queen continues. Public opinion cries out injustice about this luxury expense in times of economic hardship, as this purchase shook up especially the southern part of the country. RTBF journalist Cristophe Deborsu, the same journalist who asked former Prime Minister Yves Leterme to sing the Brabançonne but got the Marseillaise in return, pulled another stunt interview. … Continue reading →

Posted in Belgium | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Salary Increase for the Danish Royal Family

  August 25, 2009 at 5:51 am by

According to politiken.dk, the Danish Royal Family will next year receive an increase in their allowances totalling 1.9 million kroner. The Queen’s husband Prince Henrik will receive a total budget of 7.1 million kroner, which is a rise of 200,000 kroner from last year, whilst Prince Joachim and Princess Marie will receive an increase of 100,000 kroner, for a total of 3.1 million. Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary … Continue reading →

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Hans-Adam II Angers the Jewish with Comments about Holocaust

  August 21, 2009 at 2:51 am by

Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein has angered the Jewish community with his comments regarding the Holocaust in an interview with the Liechtensteiner Volksblatt. The 64-year-old Prince stated that it was the tiny alpine nation’s banking secrecy laws which allowed “some Jews to buy their safety during the Holocaust by using money they had deposited in Liechtenstein or Switzerland.” He also claimed that the laws helped citizens of Europe’s former communist … Continue reading →

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King Albert buys New Yacht

  August 13, 2009 at 11:43 am by

New controversy hits Belgium while the royals are enjoying their holiday. It has become known that King Albert II of Belgium has bought a new yacht, the “Alpa” of 27 m long, 6.3 m wide, and capable of going up to 30 knots. According to the website of deredactie.be, the yacht is a “Technema 90”, built by the shipyard Rizzardi. Research of Soir Magazine has revealed that the catalogue price … Continue reading →

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Sophie’s PR Firm Debts Officially Written Off

  July 19, 2009 at 11:44 am by

The ending of what has been a royal headache and unwanted negative attention has finally arrived. The Daily Mail is reporting that last week, the former RJ-H Public Relations company was officially ended, despite the more than £1.7 million in unpaid debts. RJ-H PR was founded in 1997 by Sophie Rhys-Jones, now the Countess of Wessex and wife of Prince Edward, the youngest son of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, … Continue reading →

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King Albert Offers to Pay Part of Renovation Costs

  July 14, 2009 at 1:44 pm by

King Albert II of Belgium has offered the Belgian government to help them to pay for the renovation costs necessary to freshen up the Royal Palace in Brussels. The Palace will be used for the European-Asian Summit (ASEM) during the Belgian presidency of the European Union. The Belgian government will pay for the refurbishment of the Palace. Most of the works will be painting and brushing up other details. King … Continue reading →

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Belgian Dotation System Revised

  July 4, 2009 at 2:41 pm by

The Belgian government had appointed a parliamentary commission to discuss the dotation system of the Belgian royals. Every now and then, word came out that the commission wanted to strip Princess Astrid and Prince Laurent of their dotation, but up until now there had been no formal declaration regarding the matter. On July 2, the commission finally came up with a final compromise. The current system of dotations will be … Continue reading →

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