What’s the Cost of a Queen?

How expensive is it to have a Queen as Head of State? I  researched that question on the Internet and found an answer in an article written in the Telegraph June 06. Click on the link to read it all. The Queen and the Royal Family cost the taxpayer 62p per person last year - a drop of 7p, Buckingham Palace accounts showed. The total cost of keeping the monarchy decreased by £3.3 million (7.9 per cent) to £38.2 million during the 2009-10 financial year. A spokesman said the fall equated to a drop in real terms of 12.2 per cent and was mainly due to a reduction in commercial charter flights and a refund of lease rentals from the Queen's helicopter, which was replaced last year. Palace accounts also showed that the Queen dipped into a reserve fund to boost her Civil List by £6.5 million in 2009. This is the highest amount ever drawn from the reserve, which comes from surplus Civil List money accumulated in the 1990s. Sir Alan Reid, Keeper of the Privy Purse, said: "The Royal Household is acutely aware of the difficult economic climate and took early action to reduce its Civil List expenditure by 2.5 per cent in real terms in 2009. 62 pennies for every person in the UK! Wow, wouldn’t you have thought it much more? I think I could afford that cost. What’s Canada’s share of the costs? Here are the Canadian figures: (Source:http://www.bettertax.ca/cost-of-canada%E2%80%99s-constitutional-monarchy/) The report calculates that the total cost of the Canadian Crown in 2007 was $50,146,896 or $1.53 per Canadian. The Monarchy costs residents of the United Kingdom (a unitary state of compact size) a total of £38 million in 2007 ($76.7 million, or $1.26 per person). By way of comparison, the Canadian Monarchy costs Canadians less than the Senate ($2.45 per person), about the same as the National Gallery of Canada ($1.43 per person) and a little more than the Library of Parliament ($1.02 per person). The same accounts indicate that the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation cost Canadians $1,114,053,000 ($33/Canadian). So we Canadians are actually paying significantly more per capita for our beloved CBC than for having the Queen as our Head of State. I have tried to also find figures showing what the PR-value of the British Royalty is and I finally found figures again at the Telegraph: (click on the link for full article) The total value of £44.5 billion includes £18.1 billion of assets including the Crown jewels and royal palaces. On top of that, the monarchy is reckoned to be worth an additional £26.4 billion because of the economic benefits it brings to the UK, through the boost to tourism and other industries. And it goes on: The report adds: “Monarchy is more than a historical throwback to the days of the British Empire but a much-needed impetus for economic growth in the United Kingdom.” David Haigh, Brand Finance’s chief executive, writing in the report’s introduction, said: “[The Monarchy] is one of the most valuable of all British brands. Whatever one thinks about the constitutional principle, there seems little doubt that the institution of monarchy adds significant annual earnings and long-term economic value to the UK.” So what we’ve got here is a very good brand. Britain, is reaping benefits from its monarchy which by far is outweighing the actual cost of it. Now, I don’t know how that will work out for Canada’s part, but I do know that certain magazine publications would not have much to live for hadn’t it been for the gossip they spread about the Royal Family. :-)) Queen's popularity sky-high in America on eve of Diamond Jubilee Yesterday I was surprised to read at CNN WORLD that the Queen enjoys record high popularity in the United States. That was the last thing I had expected. Had always thought that the United States were not interested in what happened in their former suppressors' country. Isn’t history a wonderful thing? If you like to read more about the topic go to: http://www.canada.com/Tandt+monarchy+makes+sense+until+consider+alternatives/6734847/story.html It is an interesting blog-style article about whether the monarchy makes sense for Canada.   Thanks for coming along the way!