View Full Version : Queen costs each taxpayer 62p a year
ShadesWolf
06-28-2006, 20:44
And she is worth every penny of it
LONDON (Reuters) - The Queen costs each taxpayer 62 pence a year, with the overall cost of running the royal family increasing above the rate of inflation, Buckingham Palace said on Wednesday.
The Royal Public Finances report said the queen's family and household spending was 37.4 million pounds last year, a 4.2 percent increase from the previous year, costing the taxpayer an extra 1 pence more.
The Queen's accountants said the expenditure figure represented a decrease in real terms of 2.5 percent since 2001.
"The reduction in the amount of Head of State expenditure reflects the continuous attention the Royal Household pays to obtaining the best value for money in all areas of expenditure," said Alan Reid, Keeper of the Privy Purse.
The report showed the bulk of the increase had come from travel costs, an issue critics have repeatedly highlighted.
The highest travel expenses were incurred by Prince Charles and his wife the Duchess of Cornwall.
Their trip to Egypt and the Middle East in March amounted to 304,000 pounds while their visit to the United States last November cost 280,186 pounds.
However a staff "reconnaissance visit" before the U.S. trip cost an additional 45,000 pounds compared to 15,000 spent before the Queen's state visit to Australia.
In addition the Royal Train, which incurs annual maintenance costs, was used 14 times, down from 19 in 2004-5.
Other royal costs involved dealing with inquiries under the Freedom of Information Act and from increased security vetting brought on after repeated attempts by the media to infiltrate Buckingham Palace.
The most famous example was in 2003 when Daily Mirror reporter Ryan Porter worked for two months as a footman and even served the Queen her breakfast.
The death of Princess Diana in a Paris car crash in 1997 marked a turning point in public opinion and led to attacks on the monarchy's wealth and demands that it become more open and accountable.
Shortly afterwards, the Queen agreed to scrap her beloved royal yacht Britannia rather than ask the public to pay 60 million pounds for a replacement.
The figures come after Prince Charles's office said on Monday his private income from the Duchy of Cornwall had risen by six percent to 14 million pounds helped by investments and rent rises on his country estates.
Red Peasant
06-28-2006, 20:56
A loyalty cheaply bought for a cut-price monarchy. ~;)
To be honest, I don't mind the monarchy too much, but on principle I believe that I shouldn't have to pay them a single penny.
Samurai Waki
06-28-2006, 20:57
Disband the Monarchy ~;)
rory_20_uk
06-28-2006, 21:00
How much does the EU cost each of us?
That bloated parasite eucks everything out of the country. The Queen helps us remember what we are.
~:smoking:
doc_bean
06-28-2006, 21:02
The Queen helps us remember what we are.
Commoners ?
Red Peasant
06-28-2006, 21:03
How much does the EU cost each of us?
That bloated parasite eucks everything out of the country. The Queen helps us remember what we are.
~:smoking:
Off-topic.
But, if you insist, I know that most of the regeneration around here has been funded by many hundreds of millions of EU money, and for the life of me I don't see any signs of the Royals helping out by stumping up some cash.
Red Peasant
06-28-2006, 21:04
Commoners ?
Worse. Subjects.
Silver Rusher
06-28-2006, 21:07
How much does the EU cost each of us?
That bloated parasite eucks everything out of the country. The Queen helps us remember what we are.
~:smoking:
Nicely done.
rory_20_uk
06-28-2006, 21:18
Off-topic.
But, if you insist, I know that most of the regeneration around here has been funded by many hundreds of millions of EU money, and for the life of me I don't see any signs of the Royals helping out by stumping up some cash.
...But failing to answer the question. If the EU takes £400,000,000 and gives back £40,000,000 I'm not too happy about that.
The Royals pay taxes. They give their money to the EU. The EU after taking a juicy slice for all the pen pushers gives some of it back.
But you know that.
Rather evade the truth and bash the Royals than not eh?
Silver Rusher Thanks for pointing out my spelling mistake. Without input like you I'd be more reluctant to use people as cannon fodder.
~:smoking:
The British royalty were exempt from income tax until the year of the annus horribilis. I wonder how much they are actually paying out in taxes.
lancelot
06-29-2006, 00:38
Their trip to Egypt and the Middle East in March amounted to 304,000 pounds while their visit to the United States last November cost 280,186 pounds.
Eh?...plane ticket- check, fancy evening dress-check...£300,000 spending money-check...
WTF?!?? You wanna talk to the yankees? Use a phone! I bet you even have one of those fancy video ones...jeez...was that really worth £300K??
Shortly afterwards, the Queen agreed to scrap her beloved royal yacht Britannia rather than ask the public to pay 60 million pounds for a replacement.
Oh boo frickin hoo...
'rather than ask the public'! :wall:
Papewaio
06-29-2006, 02:19
Thanks for pointing out my spelling mistake. Without input like you I'd be more reluctant to use people as cannon fodder.
~:smoking:
I thought it was on purpose a new word created from the amalgamation of EU and sucks... looked quite clever... but it appears it is a bit like the invention of penicillin.
Somebody Else
06-29-2006, 03:36
62 pence hmm... that's what, a third of a pint? To make this country a bit more colourful, a bit more interesting? Doesn't bother me in the slightest. They're more fun than the majority of politicians...
King Henry V
06-29-2006, 10:35
So last year the Royal family cost £34,400,000. Does anyone know how much it cost to run Parliament from 2002-2003?
£141 million.
It costs money to run and maintain a huge neo-gothic palace with three post offices, 7,500 telephone lines, six bars, fourteen restaurants, a gym and 2,280 members of staff.
The Queen seems cheap in comparison.
English assassin
06-29-2006, 13:21
Originally Posted by rory_20_uk
The Queen helps us remember what we are.
Commoners ?
First class!
Does the 62p include the cost of security for the royal family? No. Is it net or gross? Who knows? Did she divide her cost by the number of people who pay tax, or by the number of people in the country? And so on and so forth. Come on people, its just a number pulled out of her annus horribilis.
To put this in perspective, educating a secondary school child "costs the taxpayer" about 0.01p. (its about 3K and there are about 30,000,000 income tax payers) So I could educate 620 children for what it costs me to keep Mrs Windsor in the style to which she is accustomed.
Press release that one, your Highness.
King Henry V
06-29-2006, 13:40
So I could educate 620 children for what it costs me to keep Mrs Windsor in the style to which she is accustomed.
No, you couldn't.
According to you, there are 30 million tax payers.
£34.7 pounds / 30 million = 1.16 p per person.
Which means you would be able to educate 11.6 children.
English assassin
06-29-2006, 14:50
You're right, I made a mistake, but not whatever it is you are on about.
3000 divided by 30,000,000 is 0.0001. That's in pounds, so its 0.01 pence.
How many .01's in 62? 6200, not 620 as I said, hey ho, what's a factor of ten. Liz costs about three secondary schools.
I'm not in a position to criticise since I dropped a zero myself but did you really think Liz costs the same as half a class of school kids?
Somebody Else
06-29-2006, 14:58
You're right, I made a mistake, but not whatever it is you are on about.
3000 divided by 30,000,000 is 0.0001. That's in pounds, so its 0.01 pence.
How many .01's in 62? 6200, not 620 as I said, hey ho, what's a factor of ten. Liz costs about three secondary schools.
I'm not in a position to criticise since I dropped a zero myself but did you really think Liz costs the same as half a class of school kids?
Have you seen some of those school kids? Not worth the effort I say...
rory_20_uk
06-29-2006, 15:30
Have you seen some of those school kids? Not worth the effort I say...
LOL just what I was thinking... :2thumbsup:
~:smoking:
Damn the pence and the children... GOD SAVE THE INBRED GERMANIC MONARCH! :2thumbsup:
rory_20_uk
06-29-2006, 16:59
Damn the pence and the children... GOD SAVE THE INBRED GERMANIC MONARCHS! :2thumbsup:
Erm, the Queen married a Greek, charles married gutter trash from the Spencer family.
~:smoking:
Duke Malcolm
06-29-2006, 17:02
You're right, I made a mistake, but not whatever it is you are on about.
3000 divided by 30,000,000 is 0.0001. That's in pounds, so its 0.01 pence.
How many .01's in 62? 6200, not 620 as I said, hey ho, what's a factor of ten. Liz costs about three secondary schools.
I'm not in a position to criticise since I dropped a zero myself but did you really think Liz costs the same as half a class of school kids?
By your calculations, the Queen also pays for the education of 60000 children through her contributions to HM Treasury by the Crown Estates...
Duke Malcolm
06-29-2006, 17:03
Erm, the Queen married a Greek, charles married gutter trash from the Spencer family.
~:smoking:
And late Queen Mother was Scottish. And the daughter of the Earl Spencer is not quite gutter trash...
Erm, the Queen married a Greek, charles married gutter trash from the Spencer family.
~:smoking:
What? The one drop rules applies to Greeks too?!? :inquisitive: :laugh4: Calling Prince Philip Greek is like calling me the last of the Ming emperors. Philip is Greek by means of title and by way of Danish & German royalty, both of which trace their bloodlines through Germanic & Russian bloodlines. However, truth be told these same royal families can supposedly trace some of their ancestry to Byzantine emperors but it seems there's been very little swarthy blood infused back into the bloodline since. During the 19th century Greece offered one of Phillip's Germanic ancestors the throne because... well, I have no idea. Call it a momentary lapse of reason, royal fever, whatever.
http://www.angelfire.com/celeb/millers/greece1.html
King William George I* was born in 1845. He was offered the Greek throne in 1863, and became King George I. He and Queen Olga** had seven children: King Constantine I, Prince George, Princess Alexandra, Prince Nicholas, Princess Marie, Prince Andrew, and Prince Christopher. He reigned until 1913, when he was assassinated.
King Constantine I succeeded George I in 1913. He was a very unlucky monarch who ruled briefly twice. He was deposed in favor of his son Alexander I in 1917. Upon Alexander I's death in 1920, he was King once more, but was forced to abdicate in 1922 in favor of his eldest son, George II. He died in exile later that year. He and Queen Sophia had six children- three of whom became King- King George II, King Alexander I, Princess Helen, King Paul I, Princess Irene, and Princess Catherine.
King George II reigned after Constantine I was forced to abdicate in 1922. He was ousted in 1924 when a plebiscite abolished the monarchy, but was restored to the throne in 1935- when another plebiscite brought it back. In 1941, he took his government into exile because of the Nazi attack, but was restored to the throne in 1946. He and Queen Elizabeth, who divorced in 1935, did not have children. He died in 1947, and was succeeded by his brother Paul I.
King Alexander I reigned briefly from 1917-1920. He married a Greek commoner, Aspasia Manos, in 1919; the union was considered controversial by the Royal Family, the Church, and the Greek people. In 1920, he died from blood poisoning that came from a pet monkey biting him. His daughter Princess Alexandra, born posthumously, is the only member of the Greek Royal Family with Greek blood.
Watch out for those pet monkeys!
Doh, I take it you're not a Diana fan? :laugh4:
English assassin
06-29-2006, 18:45
By your calculations, the Queen also pays for the education of 60000 children through her contributions to HM Treasury by the Crown Estates...
All of which should be nationalised and turned into skateboard parks and walls for graffiti artists immediately.
Look, can any of you monarchists give me one rational reason why I should look up to Elizabeth Windsor? Please don't mention a lifetime of public service, I could open a few factories in return for being one of the world's richest people. You know who DO give public service? Binmen. And THEIR jobs are put out to tender every three years.
And the daughter of the Earl Spencer is not quite gutter trash...
Once again, enlighten me, apart from marrying Big Ears and deciding to do a bit of charity work to annoy Charlie and get away from watching Trisha all day, what exactly did this person do that deserves respect? I think you will find she was a sinlge mum sponging off the state, and the fact that she called herself lady la-di-da makes no difference to me.
doc_bean
06-29-2006, 18:56
Once again, enlighten me, apart from marrying Big Ears and deciding to do a bit of charity work to annoy Charlie and get away from watching Trisha all day, what exactly did this person do that deserves respect? I think you will find she was a sinlge mum sponging off the state, and the fact that she called herself lady la-di-da makes no difference to me.
What ??? You call yourself English and you don't even know how that works ??? :dizzy2:
It's quite simple, it's all due to breeding. You see, if you are born into the higher class, you deserve respect and are an admirable person, even if you are a single mom costing the state millions. If you are born in the lower class, you are a waste of space that doesn't deserve education, let alone healthcare and social security. You should be THANKFUL if you get a job, so don't complain about the pay. You're a dime a dozen. And if one of the lower class actually manages to make some money because of something like talent or intelligence, they're just people who don't know their place in society. You can take the trash out of the gutter, but you can't take the gutter out of the trash...
~:smoking:
King Henry V
06-29-2006, 19:19
All of which should be nationalised and turned into skateboard parks and walls for graffiti artists immediately.
Why? It's her personal property, her inheritance.
Look, can any of you monarchists give me one rational reason why I should look up to Elizabeth Windsor? Please don't mention a lifetime of public service, I could open a few factories in return for being one of the world's richest people. You know who DO give public service? Binmen. And THEIR jobs are put out to tender every three years.
Because she is a living part of our history, a link to the past.
I am surprised, I suspected it would be a lot more (she has her own jet you know..). However, I am all for monarchy; without her we would be just another faceless member of the EU. Would we rather sing "God save our Prime Minister" than pay 62p a year?
lancelot
06-29-2006, 20:04
Would we rather sing "God save our Prime Minister" than pay 62p a year?
You've got a point there, I'll give you that...
Would we rather sing "God save our Prime Minister" than pay 62p a year?
Prime Minister? No:
God save our Cherie Blair,
Long live our Cherie Blair,
God save Cherie:
Send her victorious,
Happy and glorious,
Long to reign over us:
God save Cherie.
O Tony don't step down,
Forget that Gordon Brown,
And make him fall:
Confound his politics,
Frustrate his knavish tricks,
On her our hopes we fix,
God save Cherie.
Pete Foster's flats in store,
On her be pleased to pour,
Long may she reign:
May she defend the veil,
And may we never fail
To sing with heart and voice
God save Cherie.
:laugh4: :laugh4: :laugh4: :laugh4: :laugh4: :laugh4:
Setting aside the issues of tradition and national pride, I think the obvious answer is that the Monarchy and the history attached to it brings in far more money in tourism than the paltry £34 million pounds it costs to keep her.
rory_20_uk
06-30-2006, 12:37
And Presidents are not cheap things either. If anything they want more pomp as they've nothing but the robes.
Plus unless people want the palaces to fall into disrepair they'll require money for unkeep in any case.
~:smoking:
Incongruous
06-30-2006, 13:00
Oooooh 62p a year, waaaaahhhhh...
Man some people make me feel like I want a Milo, or some other comforting hot Drink.
Man sometimes us Brits are moany gits no wonder the kiwis and aussies have the joke "how do u know when a plane full of poms has landed?
The whining continues after the engine stops" hah only now do I see the frickin truth in that. What a bunch of self centred rar rar rars!:wall:
The Wizard
06-30-2006, 13:12
As long as the person is worth it I fail to care. But the moment it becomes ridiculous it is time to do away with this archaic institution.
Eh?...plane ticket- check, fancy evening dress-check...£300,000 spending money-check...
WTF?!?? You wanna talk to the yankees? Use a phone! I bet you even have one of those fancy video ones...jeez...was that really worth £300K??
Diplomacy. It would cost as much without a monarch and happen as often.
IrishArmenian
06-30-2006, 22:56
This woman just takes your money? And you don't do anything about it? What happened to the English who made John sign the Manga Carta?
Justiciar
06-30-2006, 23:19
They were Norman.
Philippus Flavius Homovallumus
06-30-2006, 23:41
Presidents cost more, plus at least with the Queen there Tony doesn't have complete control. Then consider things like the Prince's trust.
Mainly though it gives us a bit of wallop with foriegn monarchs and the Queen is definately a maste diplomat. It's just a shame Philip couldn't go on to be an Admiral and then First Sea Lord.
IrishArmenian
07-01-2006, 01:32
They were Norman.
I assume at least a few were Anglo-Saxon, yes?
Justiciar
07-01-2006, 01:46
Oh I'm sure a few of them had a dapple of English blood in their veins, but it wasn't some great bill of rights for the common people, just a way for the French-speaking Barons and Bishops to keep the King on a leash.
Linky:
http://www.britannia.com/history/magna2.html
rory_20_uk
07-01-2006, 18:44
English blood? What is that? Celtic, Roman, Saxon, or some others, or a mix of the lot.
~:smoking:
62 pence hmm... that's what, a third of a pint?
That's the first thing I thought when I read the thread title. Measuring costs in beer is the only way to go.
English blood? What is that? Celtic, Roman, Saxon, or some others, or a mix of the lot.
Option C.
Lentonius
07-01-2006, 19:00
man, a whole 62p? You must be joking, thats extraordinately expansive! I could buy a whole can of cola with the money instead of keeping tradition and heriatige alive in our small country.
Guys....exactly how much does the monarch bring in for tourism? I think that alone will offset some, if not all, of the expenses. People go to England for the history (it sure ain't the weather) and the Queen is certainly a draw.
IrishArmenian
07-02-2006, 05:59
I'm sorry, I thought you meant Pounds. I must have just blanked on that. I do not know why. By all means, just give her the 62 pence and be done with it. And I think that the "English Blood" is mostly Anglo-Saxon with a bit of Celtic thrown in (mostly for you English with dark hair).
And somebody else, that 3rd of a pint does sound mighty tempting.
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