Is the current Monarchy too costly for the UK

[Voyager EMH]

To play a bit of Devil lad advocate. What level of wealth and privilege should people be allowed to be born into?

Good point.
Our royal family are way down the list of wealth and privilege in this country.
They are very visible and required to be responsible in civic duties.
The 300 or so wealthy people above them are mainly not visible to the public and accountable to no one but themselves with regard to their activities. Yet their wealth and privilege, handed down through generations, is rarely questioned.

I have never felt comfortable with hereditary wealth and privilege.
Creating laws which restrict this would be a very tricky business. I am not against the idea of someone trying however. Seems like a worthy cause. Why not set this out please someone?
The royal family having wealth and privilege does not concern me greatly as it is so visible and the Crown Estate finances are made public.

I do not consider myself to be a monarchist or a royalist. I am a realist.

I would advocate change only when I am completely convinced that the change is well worked out, achievable and of benefit to the country as a whole.
Our present system is currently the least worst, in my view.

It is very easy to spout simplicities with no details and gain support.
That is how Brexit was achieved.

I hope it does not happen that way with our constitutional monarchy.

 

[chrisd]

I'm getting worried about all this getting rid of the monarchy - I'm 42,000,000 'th inline for the throne

 

[larmen]

I understand the president of Germany is not the head of Government. That is the Chancellor , I believe. ( equivalent to our PM).
However. These presidents are elected and not living in as much luxury, nor are there siblings, relatives etc living for their whole lives in similar circumstances just because they are born into it.

The German president is elected by half parliament, half celebrities. Not sure that’s better than birth right in any way ;-)

Steinneier seems decent, Gauck was weird. Wulff was good but bullied out with a drummed up scandal that wasn’t one. There was one in between which I can’t even remember.

All he does is final signature on parliament bills, and shaking hands. 2 term limit, but nice big pension after serving a single day.

I don’t think a figure a one government is necessary in Germany.

 

[Hobbit]

LP has listed the Privy Purse, which shows what the State pays the Monarchy.

However, it is worth noting what the Crown Estates generate… the Crown Estates paid around £260m to the Treasury, net after running cost. It’s worth looking at who owns the Crown Estates, and why.

Further, neither the Queen nor the, now, King are liable to pay any taxes. But both decided they should pay all taxes over 30 years ago, including Corporation taxes, income taxes, Council taxes, + NI contributions and pension payments for their staff.

Whether you’re a Royalist or a Republican, the simple (business) equation of money in ‘v’ money out suggests the U.K. Treasury does extremely well out of the Royals.

 

[Voyager EMH]

The Crown Estate is a long long way divorced from being run as a commercial enterprise. Tax accountability is widely different for Royals and their property.

 

[Swango1980]

My answer is a resounding No. The cost to the tax payer is peanuts on an economic scale. Sadly, individuals see a cost and compare it to how much money it is compared to their own bank account, and therefore the number does indeed seem huge.

You just need to look at how the nation has responded in the last week. I read that the global viewing audience on Monday was 4 billion, more than half the population of the world. I've no idea how accurate that figure is, but the global audience will still be ridiculously high. How many tourists will that bring into our country in decades to come, people who want to see Buckingham Palace and all things Royal first hand. The money that brings into hotels, restaurants, public transport, shops, etc.

Also, how much of the tax payers money that goes to the Royal Family is paid out in wages by people employed by the Royal Family? If property needs expensive repairs, where does that money go? Does it not simply go back into the hands of mainly British people and companies!?

The Royal Family are also incredibly powerful diplomats for the country

 

[backwoodsman]

Do I believe in an inherited monarchy? Sorry, but no. Do I believe our head of state should be chosen by quirk of birth? Again, sorry, but no. Does the current monarchy generate income to the country. Undoubtedly. How much? Questionable. Do people come to the UK to see the pomp, pageantry and razzmatazz? Yes. Do they only come because of that? Almost certainly not. Do we need a monarchy to sustain that pomp, pageantry & razzamatazz? Hmmmmm .... ? (After all, most of it is only walking about slowly in silly clothes, sometimes with a few horses and a band thrown in). We could still do that anyway, couldn't we?. But given I don't really know what to replace the monarchy with, I'll not commit to regicide just yet.

But can we stop banging on about the Sovereign Grant costing only £1.29 per head per year. That grant doesn't cover anywhere near all the costs of keeping the monarchy roadshow on the road..

 

[drdel]

Do I believe in an inherited monarchy? Sorry, but no. Do I believe our head of state should be chosen by quirk of birth? Again, sorry, but no. Does the current monarchy generate income to the country. Undoubtedly. How much? Questionable. Do people come to the UK to see the pomp, pageantry and razzmatazz? Yes. Do they only come because of that? Almost certainly not. Do we need a monarchy to sustain that pomp, pageantry & razzamatazz? Hmmmmm .... ? (After all, most of it is only walking about slowly in silly clothes, sometimes with a few horses and a band thrown in). We could still do that anyway, couldn't we?. But given I don't really know what to replace the monarchy with, I'll not commit to regicide just yet.

But can we stop banging on about the Sovereign Grant costing only £1.29 per head per year. That grant doesn't cover anywhere near all the costs of keeping the monarchy roadshow on the road..

I'm not anti the Royals but I do think we need to be realistic and less sentimental/emotional.

 

[WGCRider]

I read that the global viewing audience on Monday was 4 billion, more than half the population of the world. I've no idea how accurate that figure is,

We don't know what it is but we do know it's nowhere near that. The most watched single TV event ever is the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympics where the verifiable figure is around 1 Billion. More than half of that came from China itself.
FIFA claim an audience of 2 billion for a world cup. They define this as someone viewing for more than 3 minutes during the 4 weeks of the tournament. Most experts think that number is way too high. There is no chance a single days' TV is double that.
Almost every story along the lines of "xxx million/billion watched the wedding/superbowl/final around the world" is PR guff.

 

[Swango1980]

We don't know what it is but we do know it's nowhere near that. The most watched single TV event ever is the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympics where the verifiable figure is around 1 Billion. More than half of that came from China itself.
FIFA claim an audience of 2 billion for a world cup. They define this as someone viewing for more than 3 minutes during the 4 weeks of the tournament. Most experts think that number is way too high. There is no chance a single days' TV is double that.
Almost every story along the lines of "xxx million/billion watched the wedding/superbowl/final around the world" is PR guff.

Yeah, as I said, I've no idea how accurate that is, as it seemed ridiculously high (considering the amount of people in the world who probably don't have a TV, young kids with definitely no interest, etc). However, it'll certainly have been watched by a very large number of people outside the country live, and I'm sure many more will see selections of it as time goes on.

 

[GB72]

Yeah, as I said, I've no idea how accurate that is, as it seemed ridiculously high (considering the amount of people in the world who probably don't have a TV, young kids with definitely no interest, etc). However, it'll certainly have been watched by a very large number of people outside the country live, and I'm sure many more will see selections of it as time goes on.

Would be interesting to know the algorythm for calculating it as, if similar is always applied, whilst you cannot get an accurate number, you can work out the size of the audience in comparison to other events.

 

[WGCRider]

Would be interesting to know the algorythm for calculating it as, if similar is always applied, whilst you cannot get an accurate number, you can work out the size of the audience in comparison to other events.

https://www.sportingintelligence.co...-2bn-because-sport-not-royalty-reigns-080501/

This for for Willy and Katie's wedding but you can see the logic here.

 

[Voyager EMH]

Denise Coates of Bet365 paid herself a salary of £421 million and £48 million in share dividend in 2020. This brought her income to over a billion pounds in the 4 years up to 2020.
She will, of course, be paying income tax on that.
Makes the Sovereign Grant look small in comparison, though.

Her children are likely to inherit a vast fortune each as her net worth is estimated at around £7 billion.

I'm pointing this out merely to show how the wealth and income of the King and the Crown Estate compares with other wealthy people.

 

[chrisd]

Denise Coates of Bet365 paid herself a salary of £421 million and £48 million in share dividend in 2020. This brought her income to over a billion pounds in the 4 years up to 2020.
She will, of course, be paying income tax on that.
Makes the Sovereign Grant look small in comparison, though.

Her children are likely to inherit a vast fortune each as her net worth is estimated at around £7 billion.

I'm pointing this out merely to show how the wealth of the King and the Crown Estate compares with other wealthy people.

And she wont be required to go out on a wet Wednesday in Watford to open a factory as the King or Queen has to

 

[Oddsocks]

How do I visit the royal family?

Send them a email.

Canicomeforlunch@theroyals.org.uk

 

[KenL]

Irrespective of whether they make or cost the country money, their very existence is a flashing beacon of privilege and inequality.

Where's the privilege in not being able to pop to the shops or do anything without the world watching and looking to criticise?

 

[Oddsocks]

Where's the privilege in not being able to pop to the shops or do anything without the world watching and looking to criticise?

100%! Look at the little prince and how he was ridiculed for pulling funny faces at Kate, further more she was slaughtered for poor parenting etc etc etc.

He’s a tot who was bored sitting there for hours, what did they actually expect?

 

[KenL]

To play a bit of Devil lad advocate. What level of wealth and privilege should people be allowed to be born into?

Let's ask Bill Gates' kids.

 

[theoneandonly]

Where's the privilege in not being able to pop to the shops or do anything without the world watching and looking to criticise?

Pop to the shops ?? they have a man for that.

 

[Swango1980]

Pop to the shops ?? they have a man for that.

Exactly. They need a man. I'd hate to have a man doing everything for me, instead of having the freedom to do things myself, as and when I wish.