Royal family is ‘worth the money’, says Charlotte Pickles
The British Royal family‘s official annual spending showed an increase of 53 percent over the past four years. Official data published on June 30 shows the company spent £102.4 million in the past fiscal year, up 17 percent from the previous year.
About £86.6 million of this was funded by the British taxpayer through the Sovereign Grant, which supports official duties and the maintenance of royal residences.
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The Royal Family say this year’s £86.3m Sovereign Grant is equivalent to £1.29 per person in the UK.
According to the latest figures, express.co.uk held a series of polls from 1 p.m. Friday 1 July to 12 noon Thursday 7 July, asking readers for their thoughts on the funding of the royal family.
First, express.co.uk asked, “Do you think the British monarchy is too expensive?”
A total of 16,995 people responded to this question, with the majority, 66 percent (10,988 people), answering “no”, the British monarchy is not too expensive.
Meanwhile, 33 percent (5,534 people) said “yes,” while only three percent (473 people) said they knew about neither.
Royal family ‘worth every penny’ of British taxpayers’ money (Image: Getty)
The Royals spent £4.5m on travel and £63.9m on property maintenance last year.
Full-time wages totaled £23.7 million, and the cost of housekeeping and hospitality increased by 55 per cent.
A leading royal source told the Press Association that the royal family is considering being “innovative” in reducing consumption, given environmental and cost-of-living factors.
Next one, express.co.uk asked, “Should the taxpayer-funded royal budget be cut?”
A total of 16,947 people answered this question, and about 57 percent (9,596 people) answered “no,” taxpayers’ funding for the company should not be cut.
In addition, 37 percent (6,347 people) said “yes,” and another six percent (1,003 people) said they didn’t know.
Every year the Royal Family costs just £1.29 per person in the UK (Image: Getty)
The Republic’s President, Graham Smith, of the anti-monarchy campaign said: “As always, while the rest of us face a cost of living crisis and continued pressure on public services, the royals are walking away with hundreds of millions of pounds tax money .
“We have to put the monarchy on a good budgetary basis, just like any other public body. We need to reduce that budget to less than £10 million, funding only what is necessary for the functions of the head of state.”
Then, express.co.uk asked, “Is the royal family value for money?”
A total of 16,999 people voted, of which 69 percent (11,675 people) answered “yes”, the royal family is good value for money.
Another 27 percent (4,616 people) said “no,” while four percent (708 people) said they didn’t know.
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How the Crown Estate works (Image: EXPRESS.CO.UK)
Royal pundit Richard Fitzwilliams told BBC Breakfast last week that the royal family is crucial from a “ceremonial point of view”.
He explained: “There is nothing else to compare it to except the other royal families around the world, I think there are 27 in total. If you look at our profile, you have no equal.”
In the hundreds of comments below the accompanying article, readers shared their thoughts on the value and cost of the royal family.
Many were in favor of the royal family’s expense, with one reader, username STANB, commenting that they are “worth every penny”.
Another reader, username Brian at home, said: “The Royal Family costs taxpayers less than £2 a head per year. I would say it is good value for money.”
And username Rexus said: “As the Royal Family brings in more than £1 billion in annual benefits to the country, they are a steal.”
However, some readers argued that amid the cost of living facing Britain, the company’s expenses are too high.
Username WeeIain said: “In this day and age this is ridiculous. This is not healthy for the country.”
And username oom.mal wrote: “Definitely way too expensive for what they do or what they do.”