The Queen has asked for a five million pound increase to the annual civil list allowance for housekeeping, money for the upkeep of the royal palaces, whereas it is true she has not asked for a “rise” since 1989 it has nevertheless continued to rise with inflation. The problem I have with this is nobody gets any benefit form the Palaces other than the Queen herself and the royal family, ok occasionally a visiting dignitary stays over at Buckingham Palace, and she does does throw a mean tea party, but I do not see why she cant fund it herself. In August 2008 the last time there were any official figures announced, Her Majesty’s personal wealth stood at £349 million pounds. She is 83 years old assuming she lives to be a hundred, she could cover the 5 million she wants yearly herself, and even if her wealth never grew by another penny she would still have around a quarter of a billion pounds left. At anytime five million pounds is an astronomical amount of money, and with the country in recession and people tightening their belts, you would think she would be better advised. I am not a Royalist, I prefer elected positions, but I have no axe to grind with the Queen, and I am sure there are plenty of statistics out there to show how much money she brings in Via tourism, how The royal Estates pay millions in tax every year etc etc. But having been born into enormous privilege, and having lived a life we cant even begin to imagine, maybe Liz should put her hand in her pocket this time.
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