What ho! Fellow Royalists......
I have often been told that the Royal Family is 'an expensive luxury'....
....and one which 'we can ill afford' in these cost sensitive times....
And my response is "How dare you!"
Don't you realise that Buckingham Palace made £7m from visitors alone in 2007–2008?
And the ACTUAL cost of The Royal Family to every person in the UK is a measly 69p! - which is a teeny weeny increase of just 3p on the previous year......and what the hell can you buy for 3p these days?
And the open and honest Buckingham Palace accounts show this to be true.....so it MUST be.
They also show that the total cost to the public of keeping the monarchy increased by a mere £1.5m to £41.5m in the 2008/9 financial year.....when Bankers were lending phenomenally more to peasants who could NEVER repay the debt!
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| Who's money is it anyway?........There's a clue in the photograph!....Doh!! |
Palace accounts also show that HRH the Queen actually had to dip into a reserve fund to boost by £6m her Civil List, which pays for the running of the Royal household. This is the largest sum ever drawn from the reserve built up in the 1990s and says something about the state of Society that we haven't bailed her out of her terrible predicament.
The Queen's Civil List, which also covers Royal household staff salaries, cost £13.9m in 2007/8 - this comprised £7.9m from government coffers and £6m from the reserve.
If the Queen continues to spend money from the reserve at the rate she is now, it will be used up by the start of her Diamond Jubilee year in 2012.....and we CAN'T allow this to happen!
Peter Hunt, BBC royal correspondent said "69p is an eye-catching figure. It's the sum royal officials proudly say the monarchy costs each person in the country. However, this headline amount doesn't include the large, but never disclosed security bill for protecting the royals around the clock."
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| Please give generously......because that's the way we like to spend |
It's clear from these accounts that by next year, the Queen will have to go cap in hand to the government seeking an increased income. One of her annual pots of money, the Civil List, has been set at £7.9m for 20 years......therefore taking absolutely NO account for inflation!
In the good times, a surplus built up. But for the past eight years, it's been raided and is dwindling. The £7.9m Civil List funds, among other things, £11m of salaries and catering.
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| We may have to economise buy ditching the 14th course! |
In a recession, with cuts on the agenda and an election looming, the royals face difficult financial negotiations in 2010.
If the total cost of the monarchy is calculated per taxpayer and not per person, the cost works out at only £1.33 each......jolly good value I'm sure you agree!
Of the £13.9m Civil List purse, nearly £10m went on staff salaries. Housekeeping and furnishings cost £700,000 and ceremonial functions cost £400,000. A further £1.1m was spent on catering and hospitality - within this, garden parties cost £600,000, while the cost of food and the royal kitchens came to £500,000.
Computers and IT systems cost £400,000 - double the figure for 2007 due to the launch of a new
British Monarchy Website and new personnel, payroll and online recruitment systems.
The £7.9m figure that is granted by the government was frozen in 2000, to compensate for 10 years of 'over-generous payments'. It will be up for re-negotiation at the end of 2010.
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| And I always thought John Major was a twit! |
The current deal was agreed by Sir John Major in 1990.
The shortfall has led to questions about how much Buckingham Palace will be able to ask for from the government during a recession.
Last year Buckingham Palace officials described the cost of the Royal Family to taxpayers as "less than the price of two pints of milk or an MP3 player download".
But Graham Smith of the anti-monarchy campaign group (Yuk! Spit!),
Republic, said the cost of the monarchy to the public was unjustified.......What?.....Treason!
ROYAL PUBLIC FINANCES
Financial summary, year to 31 March 2009
2009 (£m) 2008 (£m)
The Queen's Civil List 13.9 12.7
Parliamentary annuities 0.4 0.4
Grants-in-aid 22.6 22.0
Expenditure met by gov depts 4.6 4.9
Total 41.5 40.0
He said: "Once again, the powers that be are continually putting their hands into the public finances. They are not being totally clear and transparent about how that money is spent. "This is a hugely expensive institution and we should be looking at massive cuts." Mr Smith said it was possible to run a head of state at a much reduced cost, offering as examples the Republic of Ireland and Germany.
And to prove that he is totally out of his mind.......He suggested the Queen should be paid a salary of £200,000 a year!......Who the DEVIL CAN LIVE ON that PALTRY FIGURE?
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| "Not us that's for sure!" |
Mr Smith also said that dividing the £41m between each person in the UK to arrive at the 69p figure was really a means to make the cost seem less than it was.
The £41m total does not include security provided by the police and Army or the ceremonial duties performed by the Armed Forces.
The cost of Royal travel, which is also paid by the taxpayer, increased by £300,000 from £6.2m to £6.5m.
The most expensive journeys were the long-haul overseas tours of the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall
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| Did someone actually PAY for THIS!? |
I really don't understand what all the fuss is about......
...one only has to look into her clear blue eyes to see that
whatever the cost.....
....she is worth every penny!
I wonder what the public would say if the figures were released....
....for the cost of
ALL the Royals.....?....
Can you name them before clicking on the link above?....
No.....didn't think so......(and don't forget the so called 'Collaterals' listed underneath)....
...some of whom you NEVER EVER seem doing anything remotely useful!
I await this years figures with baited breath.....
Tallyho!
Best Wishes - Lord Noel
