Britain's "Poor" Queen: Income "Drops" in 2011 to "Just" 61 Million!
Does the input from royals justify the expense of maintaining them?
"Pomp and Circumstance" But can Britain's circumstances still afford the excess?
This news is bound to aflame anew those who see Britain’s monarchy as nothing more than a disgusting rip-off and something the country could do well without in times of recession, belt-tightening and depression (the last felt by about 90% of the population).
It’s hard to get absolutely up-to-date and penny-accurate figures of what the queen and all the other royals are accountable for each and every year. But the amounts are astronomical and cries from the supporters of the queen and the monarchy are rapidly falling on ever-more-deaf ears.
Here’s a taste of what arrives in the royal coffers every year, much of which would go to this beleaguered state if one family and its many tentacles were not hoovering it up and using it for luxury life-styles with the pretext they are “working” for the country.
The queen is worth close to 2 billion pounds personally. She also owns outright the castles and estates of Sandringham and Balmoral. Many of her properties are actually owned by the Crown, which means she has the use of them in perpetuity and they are passed on in the royal line, but she may not dispose of them by private sale. An example is the huge land making up the Duchy of Lancaster from which crown land she receives another 20 million pounds a year which is hers to spend. This is money that should go to the public purse in the opinion of many people to help ease our intolerable tax burden.
She has uncountable other assets and investments from which she enjoys millions more in income.
She also receives, currently, about 8 million from the state to do her “job” (yes, that’s the “bankrupt” British exchequer which manages to pay for the monarchy, bail out the worthy bankers, conduct expensive foreign wars and part with billions in aid to poorer countries, along with propping up half the EU, but has none left to help the suffering electorate!).
That’s not the end of it: she also receives another 30 million from us for “gift to aid” payments! From this the dinosaur-like duke, her consort, gets 350,000 a year to do practically nothing except bumble around, offer a trembling leg-up into the royal coach, and look affable, (easy when you got this situation!). She also pays for her staff of hundreds all over the country, but principally in the palaces, and in her lavish entertaining and the royal larder (a list from there would be illuminating I’m sure! “Another slice of swan, darling!?”
Various royals receive salaries or money for some service of other. Andrew as a trade envoy enjoyed a salary last year of 620,000 from the taxpayer to promote British business. His contribution was condemned in some circles; lauded in others.
It’s no wonder “commoner” Kate Middleton walks around with a lovely smile plastered to her face. It may be engendered more by the fact the rabbity William has a personal fortune of more than 40 million pounds, as does his fag-addict brother, Harry…no wonder the other Middleton lass has her eyes on him after the wedding!
Lat year, the approximate cost to all of us to maintain this collection of privileged A, plus, listers was approaching 200 million pounds!
The queen, of course, has wealth she enjoys which is the property of the state and of the crown which might be valued in the billions of pounds, such as the crown jewels, etc., And hundreds of other farms, estates and trust buildings which she enjoys as she feels like it, or banks the income.
Despite this, many British people defend the queen, saying she brings more into the country in tourism than she ever costs the country. Funny Italy, France and the USA all generate considerable more tourism each than Britain yet they have no monarchy at all. In many countries where there is a monarchy, such as Spain or the Netherlands, etc., the royal family live far more frugally than do our lot. Of course.
Maybe once - a long time ago - kings and queens could be justified as being warriors in time of warfare, or actually being involved on the day-to-day running of the country.
This is no longer true: they are a luxury Britain cannot afford and an insult thrown in the face of millions living on the margins of society.
They are indeed a rip-off, and, in the opinion of many, THEY SHOULD GO!!
