Prince Charles has released some figures as to how much it “costs” to keep Duchess Kate, Prince William and Prince Harry around. I’m going by People Magazine’s report, but I don’t think it matters if these numbers are coming from a pro-royal or anti-royal publication, mostly because Charles’ office didn’t release any specifics, and Harry’s upkeep was lumped in with Will and Kate’s. Even pro-royal people will admit that Harry’s upkeep is probably a very small fraction of what it takes to keep the Cambridges afloat. Plus, these numbers are just what Charles pays towards the maintenance of his children, with no mention of the costs of their security (Will and Kate have a ton of security) or their endless renovations on Kensington Palace Apartment 1 or Anmer Hall.
The palace shed a little light on the cost of running the official life of Prince William and Princess Kate Tuesday – and it’s Prince Charles who largely foots the bill. The staff, travel and official wardrobes for William, Kate and Prince Harry are covered by Charles, who uses a fund totaling $4.6 million.
The future king, 66, pays for his official life by drawing an income from the Duchy of Cornwall, a massive estate given to the heir to the throne to fund his official and private livelihoods. That income in the year to March 31 was $31.1 million, a rise of 1.7 percent, his office at Clarence House says in its annual report out Tuesday.
The budget Charles sets aside for his sons to run their Kensington Palace office, including their official private secretaries and their press team, rose by a modest $60,000, largely accounted for by increased travel – something that has cost more across the board, a palace source suggests.
“We can’t identify how much of it is allocated to their office,” the palace source tells PEOPLE, adding that unlike in previous years, they are not breaking down specific costs, such as Kate’s amazing wardrobe. The $4.6 million also does not account for the costs of refurbishments at William and Kate’s country home, Anmer Hall. The estate was given to the couple by the Queen, 89, and the family pays for the renovations and upkeep privately.
Nor does Charles’s official budget cover the couple’s personal staff – including nanny Maria Turrion Borrallo and new Anmer Hall housekeeper Sadie Rice.
Much of the couple’s major travel, to Australia and New Zealand, was covered by the countries they visited. But William’s week-long tour to Japan and China in February and March cost $109,000 in scheduled flights, and he and Kate’s trip to New York City in December came in at $26,600.
And Prince Harry and his staff paid $135,000 for his flights (both scheduled and charter) to Brazil and Chile last June.
It’s crazy to me that the countries William and Kate travel to have to pick up the costs of the trips. It’s also crazy to me that we can’t even get some breakdowns of “this is what Harry’s upkeep costs” versus “this is what it costs to keep Kate’s closet full of clothes she never wears.” And I think it’s interesting that People notes the difference between official royal staff and the Cambridges’ personal staff. You know Charles is paying for all of those people too – he’s paying for the nannies, the maids, the cooks and everyone else. So let me ask… are the Cambridges worth it? I think Harry is probably worth it – it’s not like he’s working and traveling on a budget, but I also don’t think Harry has crazy-expensive taste in anything other than polo horses. And Harry works constantly and consistently. So, I’ll ask anyway: are the Cambridges worth it?
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I think its high time all the expenses be separated, they are old enough,why lump it together. Everyone has their own office and get a certain amount per annum to deal with it like grown ups. Unless I am note understanding this whole set up.
I think they are using Harry as a shield, maybe?
Tossing in Harry’s expenses without any idea of how much he’s taking is using him to cast a bit of doubt on the true tally. It will never be black and white regarding their finances and this is very much a tactic.
Yep. The “common wo/man” doesn’t spend his/her life with their hands constantly in their parent’s pocket. They’d feel like less than a man or a woman. Somehow, I don’t think inherited wealth works like that. For me, well . . . I’m off to work. Mom & Dad stop giving freebies a long time ago.
Do you think it’s because their Foundation is combined and so the staff allocated to that would be for all three? Might be hard to split that out from the total.
Their foundation is funded separately from their offices. Their office staff is very clearly defined eg Harry’s ELF doesn’t work for WK. Kate’s Rebecca is exclusive to her. William has his own Equerry.
Thanks LAK. I had a charitable moment.
The People article says this:
“The staff, travel and official wardrobes for William, Kate and Prince Harry are covered by Charles, who uses a small portion of a fund totaling $4.6million. ”
It isn’t say they spent $4.6 million. It says thety use a portion of a $4.6 fund. Big difference.
Good catch.
From another version.
“With a total fund of $4.6 million, both Prince William and Prince Harry, as well as Middleton are well taken care of by the future king. Charles draws most of the income from Duchy of Cornwall, an estate gifted to the heir for public and private use, the Palace says. ”
To me that reads that they’re spending $4.6 million a year, separate from what Charles himself spends out of Duchy money. There’s the Palace, once again pretending it belongs to Charles not the people. As LAK and Sixer pointed out below, if there is no monarchy, there is no heir to the monarchy, and that land and income revert to the people.
Yes, it is confusing. A “fund” to me implies capital, and that they are using earnings off that fund. However, then they are talking about the approximately $30 million income from Charle’s estate, so I’m not sure what is going on there.
All
I read other ways than the one stated above. The other being Charles uses 4.6mill. Not that it’s the full amount and he’s using a fraction of 4.6, but he’s using 4.6 from a much larger fund.
And with the quote Megan gave.
covered by Charles, who uses a small portion of a fund totaling $4.6million. ”
That maybe only Charles uses a small portion of that 4.6mill while the rest is used on others?
Like…
The LAK, Bluhare and Nota are covered for all expenses while on Wiglet Watch duty by FLORC, who only gets to drive the Wagon sometimes, but pays all the insurance and restocks the tea…. Did I drift off point?
FLORC, the article mentions that is it part of the $31 million generated every year from the Duchy. I think the 4.6 is the three of them, and Charles and Camilla use X percent of the $26.4 million left.
No. They aren’t.
But I do think Kate should go to the women’s World Cup in Canada. I’ll let her have airfare for George. Would be perfect for her. And why aren’t we talking about it? (The women’s World Cup). Both USA and England through to the quarter finals! Mr Sixer is addicted!
But y’know, seriously. £4.6m is dwarfed by the estimates for the Buck House upgrade at £150m. Republic called Her Maj a “rogue tenant” this morning. I p!ssed my anti-royal pants at that!
LMAO A rogue tenant??? Excellent.
No, they’re not worth it. Isn’t Harry the most popular member of the royal family? Considering this and that he’s actually been working consistently for years now and has used his gap year to set up a charity (whatever problems that might’ve had) as well as the fact that he hasn’t been going cray with picking wallpaper etc. for two residences, I say he’s worth it.
I’m not surprised that the countries these two visited had to pick up most of the tab. Tomorrow, the Queen will be here in Frankfurt and AS IF she or the UK are paying for security etc. And no, when other heads of state visit, it’s not the same because they don’t travel to various cities and wave at people so half the city needs to be shut down. They go to Berlin. Done.
ETA: I feel like Harry does more public engagements than the D & D? Am I imagining that?
This is the statement:
“Buckingham Palace is national property treated like a private home occupied by a rogue tenant. Years of failure on the part of the royals have left the buildings in desperate need of repair. MPs and campaigners have long called on the palace to be opened up to tourists all year round, to pay for costs of maintenance. The royals have refused. So it’s time they moved out and the palace turned into a world-class museum and art gallery.”
Fab, isn’t it?!
When they do domestic visits, the local council/government authority has to bear the costs involved. As ever, when you get these reported figures, they ignore all that stuff. So it does beg the question – since they pay for so little, how the hell do they spend so much?
Harry doesn’t do more official appearances, and I think that is very deliberate. The majority of his big charity work (Sentebale, WWTW, Invictus Games) doesn’t count as royal engagements. It is considered private. If they added in all the time spent on those things, he have far more engagement hours than William.
@Sixer: You know, it WOULD be a world-class museum, they would rake it in. I visited BP about 10 years ago during the summer and it was worth every penny. Kensington Palace too.
@notsugarhere: Okay, that makes sense. So I’m not crazy, they’re just a**holes about it. Where is the difference between these engagements and Duchess Kate appearing at a hospice? (I may have pulled that out of my butt but something like that.)
Also, I saw a “documentary” (read: fawn piece) a few days ago that informed me that the apartment they’re renovating in KP has four floors??? They are two people and two babies!!! WTF? Even if they had a staff of 15, that’s insane.
Littlemiss – yes, it would.
LOL. Reminds me of Sue WhatIsHerLastName??’s book The Queen and I where they all had to move into council houses.
Littlemissnaughty: you should see the reality. It takes up a big chunk of an entire wing of the palace. It’s really a mansion within a palace.
Bluhare: Sue Townsend. Was it ‘The Queen and I’?
@ LAK: Oh yes, they had an animation. It blew my mind. NO way they could get away with this here in Germany. But we’re … frugal. Unless it comes to building airports and trains station that nobody needs/wants/uses. But that’s another topic. Every time Kate recycles an outfit I think “I do that ALL the time! What about their palaces?”
It should be open to the public just like the White House.
That’s the book, LAK. Loved it. It was written when Charles and Diana were still married and the QM alive, but it was a lot of fun. Anyone I’ve ever lent it to loved it.
I am curious what the “years of royal failures” are as they pertain to the condition of BP, though. Just read LAK’s comment . . . are the failures not using the money for what it was intended?
I thought the Townsend book was very funny, and accurate about the different personalities of the BRF.
Sixer!!! I couldn’t wait to come on here to discuss this with you.
Several disingenuous things about how all this has been reported…..
1. Each office is reporting as if it’s the entire amount spent for which ever royal in question.
Nevermind the missing items like security, CH’s figure doesn’t cover official Royal duties. Those are covered by HM’s Sovereign grant.
CH also doesn’t include the travel. Again, depending on type of travel will be covered by Sovereign grant or the foreign office or taxpayers of visited countries. Remember William’s ‘private’ visit to spy centre in Gloucestershire which suddenly became ‘official royal duty’ when the £8K bill was presented!?!
If someone where to consolidate all the figures coming from the different offices, excluding the items that can’t be made public like security, the final bill is much higher than the seemingly paltry £3M reported here.
The thing about BP’s disrepair, is that every year the earmarked budget is funnelled to private use, cleverly presented as official residence (major eyeroll)….Eg Most (a rolling total of £4.5M as at 2014) of last year’s budget of was funnelled to WK’s apartment 1A refit on the grounds that it was their permanent home and they would be taking up royal duties forthwith….well, we know how that ended. HM had the cheek to plead poverty after that…..Whilst also being brazen about the fact that BP was in desperate need of a new roof AND admitting to the diverted funds.
She is a very bad custodian of these places. There is a website called cotes de texas that has a recent post on Balmoral….Honestly, i’m all for preserving a place in it’s victorian splendour, but it looks so bad. They have threadbare carpets going back to Edwardian, if not Victorian, times. And she seems to be a hoarder. It’s an absolute disgrace. I’m not at all surprised that BP is now in need of as much as £150M of a refit.
Yes, yes, and thrice yes. And I’m still not forgetting the attempted hijacking of the fuel poverty fund. I think, even if you are not a republican like me, Republic are right. It really is time for the BRF to get out of Buck House and confine themselves to Windsor, St James and Kensington. It should be looked after properly and the only sensible way is via a tourist attraction.
Balmoral is also guilty of the slash-and-burn land management that Scottish environmentalists are going mad about, too.
Mind you, they’re talking about £3bn for the Palace of Westminster. £3bn! Meanwhile, disabled protestors in wheelchairs were KETTLED by police today in the main lobby of the House of the Commons for daring to object to the axing of the Independent Living Fund. I despair, I truly do.
(BTW: why was Amal Clooney at PMQs? Calais?)
If you divest her maj of the splendour just another entitled rich witch supporting and enabling the entitlement of her extended family. In essence, she’s a liar and a thief. ‘Divine Right’, my @ ss. They’re really a bit like a scurrilous mafia family, working the system for their benefit and power. Really ugly.
Wills and his wastrel ways are the blatant embodiment of the dictum that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Sixer: I missed PMQs this past fortnight. Was Amal in the gallery? Very odd that they’d mention her presence, and very odd that she would be present at all.
Unless she was at Westminster to drum up support for her current PR case and popped into PMQs.
It was crazy Maisie at PMQs today, LAK! I choked on my lunchtime sandwich!
First of all, there was Clooney (she was in the Lords Gallery, watching) and speculation of was she there observing because there were bound to be questions about the Calais debacle? And there were, but insofar as I know, there are spats between the UK and French authorities but nothing actually formal and I don’t know of any cases brought by any of the refugees, do you?
But then a load of disability campaigners tried to get in to the Commons from the lobby and it all went nuts. The police stopped the BBC filming according to their correspondent. The protesters were tweeting that they were being kettled actually IN the lobby. Good grief. There are a couple of short video clips on YouTube, and they certainly show the police roughly shoving severely disabled people in wheelchairs around.
And Her Maj needs £150m, RIGHT NOW. It really does make me wonder what on earth we are coming to.
Sixer
I’m so disgusted with this right now.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EpRU6eijOpU
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=18j6ufdcRnk
2 of the short clips you’ve mentioned.
FLORC – here is my favourite YouTube ranter on the topic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sPKtTB2ZaE. The ILF basically supports severely disabled people with a personal assistant so that they can hold down a job or live outside a care home. It was closed to new entrants in the last parliament under austerity cuts but those already on the scheme were maintained. Now, they are closing it altogether and transferring “care package” responsibility to local authorities and the people are being offered continence nappies and the like instead of PAs. The reality of this cut is that severely disabled people in jobs will likely lose their jobs and will either become homebound or have to go into care homes.
Perhaps this will put things into perspective for American readers – the Queen can have enormous pay rises and £150m to renovate Buck House because she spent her annual renovation monies on anything she felt like but not renovations. But severely disabled people can’t be supported in employment and if they dare to protest about it, the police will roughly shove them about in their wheelchairs and separate them from their assistants. I mean, they won’t have their assistants for much longer anyway, so why should they get to be with them at a protest?
On the plus side, I have been following the campaign to stop the cut for a while now, and those DPAC people are truly BADASS. I love them.
Sixer
It’s awful those are the places they’re trying to take money from.
Funds are set aside to take care of these things and they blow it on other things. That means (imo) you don’t get to control that money anymore because you’ve been irresponsible with it.
The queen indulged the Cambridges to the point where the disabled who want to work are paying the cost. Money doesn’t just appear. It comes from somewhere. I’m livid.
And yes. Seperate assistants from their charges. Because that’s good. I worked making house calls to disabled clients to help them get along. If I was removed from one of them in a rough and heated environment like that I would be in fear something could hav=ppen and I couldn’t get to them. A thousand things could happen that endangers their health.
Hey, I’d like to talk about the World Cup, but I’m totally conflicted about Hope Solo. Totally sucking my enthusiasm for this. I’m not tolerant of NFL players involved in domestic cases, so I’m finding it hard to pull for the U.S. now
I sympathise. For us, it’s usually the male footballers that get in the headlines for that stuff and it’s certainly put me off the game here. Thankfully, no violence stories for our women so far. Long may it last! It’s been a good tournament, though. I like women’s football.
Totally agree on the conflicted viewing due to Hope Solo.
Sixer, I knew I’d find you here. Casting my vote for making BP a museum. They’d make enough to pay for renovations at least.
But mainly just wanted to let you know that Netflix just added “Last Tango in Halifax” and I LOVE it. Laughed all through the first episode last night and had to hold myself back from binge-watching the rest of the series. I really like Sally’s work.
That’s all. Thanks for the recommendation!
Yay! I knew you’d love it. You wait for Gillian and her insatiable biscuit. Gillian is my favourite. Recent favourites include Stonemouth (adaptation of an Iain Banks book) and No Offence (un-PC police drama by creator of Shameless). Oh, and Humans is looking good. An I Robot kinda speculative series. With Colin Morgan of Merlin fame.
Nutballs: I don’t know how you can restrain yourself. When I discovered ‘Last Tango…’ I binge watched all available episodes.
Sixer: BBC iPlayer is showing ‘Stonemouth’ at the moment, loving that. And loving ‘Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell’ even though I’d had my fill of costume drama.
Bluhare: Poldark!! Adrian Turner…….drool.
How could I forget Jonathan Strange?! Oh, and there’s also Black Work on ITV, another police mystery, with Sheridan Smith. Smith is really turning into a top notch actress.
I find I am quite curious about an insatiable biscuit. I’ll have to go look for Last Tango.
I am lusting over Aidan Turner, though. Poldark just started over here this past Sunday and at first I was not sure if I should break out my drool cup, but after watching a while I believe I will! 🙂
I don’t want to spoil it for Nutballs, bluhare, but in that show, a SYMPATHETIC comedy point is Gillian’s insatiable biscuit. And I do mean biscuit as in euphemism. That’s why I like the writer – for her realistic and sympathetic portrait of women I could relate to. Er… not that my biscuit is unusually ravenous! If you get a chance, do watch it.
I suspected that was a euphemism, SIxer. 😉 Thanks for the confirmation. Now you’ve made me really want to watch that!
There was a re-run of The Forsyte Saga on last night. I LOVED that when it first aired. Now I want to watch it all again!
Sixer: according to the DM, Amal was at the commons to meet Dave Cameron to lobby for the release of the former president of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed.
I don’t know anything about him, but given her client list, i’ll not be surprised to find he isn’t squeaky clean, but hey even horrible excuses for human beings have to be free, right? (major eyeroll)
Also, the only thing I know about the Maldives is that they flog rape victims……..
Sixer, I love women with them unquenchable biscuits! Now, I may have to put off housework and trip packing for binge watching and Miss G.
None of those recent shows you mentioned will end up on Netflix or Amazon until after the first season as least. Only Jonathan Strange is available on Amazon for a fee. I’m finding they often turn up on Amazon for a 1.99/espisode and later on, added to Netflix where there’s no extra charge. That’s why I was so excited to see Last Tango show up finally. I didn’t want to pay for it on Amazon.
I was under the impression that Poldark was a soap opera like DA. Is it worth catching on PBS while it’s airing right now? This Sunday, I’m watching “A View from the Bridge” via NT Live. I doubt Poldark will outdo Strong for my Sunday dudefest.
Poldark is sort of a soap opera, I guess. Poldark returns from the revolutionary war to find his gf marrying another man, his father dead, and his inheritance down to nothing. And he’s just found the saucy Demelza who he’s employed as a kitchen maid after he realized her father was beating her. I wish I could remember more of the story, but I can’t!! Although I suspect Aidan Turner may make it worth tuning into every week. But it may indeed fall into the historical bodice ripper category. Not that there’s anything wrong with that!
I really like Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell – I love the book as well!
I’ve recently gotten into Vikings. Though it is nowhere near historically accurate it is a solid drama with good performances, and it is fun for me since I grew up on the tales of Ragnar Lodbrog. It has some great female characters, especially Lagertha! it also has Clive Standen and his impressive physique – he tends to fight topless. Not very practical but very nice on a completely shallow level. 😉
After a dismal and disappointing season of Game of Thrones, my new current favorites are:
Penny Dreadful (Gothic horror in the style of Dracula and Frankenstein), with Eva Green, Timothy Dalton and Josh Hartnett.
Orphan Black is a sci-fi show that also is great. It is about clones and the lead actress plays 5 regular characters and a few others as well. She is AMAZING! You literally forget that these characters are played by the same actress!
Bluhare – Poldark is a soapy costume drama. Mr Sixer is addicted to period drama so we watched it. Turner isn’t up my alley biscuit-wise (!) but I still enjoyed it for what it is. Great production values.
ArtHistorian – I love Vikings (also a fan of Norse mythology AND Viking history) and Penny Dreadful too – particularly Penny Dreadful.
Regarding Orphan Black
That show is best when binged! And in truth once you’re sucked in there’s no stopping it. And yes. The actrs involved playing all different roles so smoothly is great talent and writing.
Vikings is good, but yes. Not historically accurate.
Penny Dreadful had me and then lost me. Then had me again. Then lost me again.
It’s a mix of Frankenstein, Vampire, Werewolf, demons, ghosts, witches, etc….
And I find Eva Green to have been miscasted age wise. I might get junk for that opinion.
Florc, Eva is awesome as Vanessa but I won’t beat you up. Reason: She’s been slightly upstaged this season by Helen McCrory, who is absolutely slaying it as the HWIC (head witch in charge) Evelyn Poole. This whole season has been a slow unraveling of secrets and ambiguous motives, and I’ve been enjoying every moment of it. And it doesn’t hurt that it is beautifully staged and filmed.
What I don’t like is the fact that they clearly spend a lot of money for Kate to look dowdy. Seriously, why can’t someone hold an intervention to make her dress her age, rather than 3 times her age? That blue coat-dress looks like something Camilla would wear.
Well they are the future king and queen so while I don’t get it… Yes they are aren’t they. Now could they be forced to do more charity or whatever sure but they are royals what are they suppose to do. Let’s be real here people until princess di wanted to make Charles look bad she was spending all her time shopping too.
200 engagements her first year, age 20, and pregnant. No, Diana didn’t just spend her time shopping.
notasugarhere
when I read your post, I had a memory of Diana opening the xmas lights DEC 1982. She looked so lovely. with the lights creating a red halo effect and now I think of Harry too.
Here I am again correcting my own post. Diana was pregnant DEC 1981, turning on the xmas lights…. anyway, I really hope Diana had a wonderful evening that night despite the sadness in her marriage.
@Debbie (not saying you are exactly saying this), but this ‘have it both ways’ argument bothers me:
you can’t argue that they deserve all the crazy security, all of the fancy clothing, all of the renovated palaces, etc. because William is royal and will be king one day…but then at the same time say, well, he (and wife/family) is only the heir to the heir so they deserve to live a private life with their children doing whatever they want.
I don’t care if they are a future king and consort, their funding should be dependent on the amount of work they do. Otherwise they are just grifters.
Plus, you have it wrong about Diana, she worked her butt off because she understood that her position came along with a great duty. Apparently none of this rubbed off on William. I honestly think that most people who complain about W&K wouldn’t do so if they worked as much as Diana did!
p.s. I guess my argument was that if he is a future king then he needs to step up and start acting like one instead of a greedy, spoiled, petulant child.
To quote a commentor on the royal fanblogs; when it comes to William’s perks and high living, he is the heir to the heir and therefore deserves it.
When it comes to work, WIlliam is the heir to the heir and therefore deserves not to participate!!
And if you stick to your guns? Look! Pretty babies or mummy or both.
I wasn’t clear so I apologize. I think my point was more who really cares should they work harder of course, but they probably aren’t going to and you can’t take security away because they are the future king and queen. The other point is while Diana did more then Kate let’s be real she wasn’t a saint like she is often made out to be, she didn’t start doing the level of intense charity that was meaningful and not just appearances until it would piss off Charles and make the family look bad. She also spent a lot of time shopping and having affairs, which again is fine it was entertaining but I will be honest I’m over the sainted thing now.
Do they need to spend that kind of money no but sorry in the grand scheme of life I’m having a hard time caring if they do or not. I can totally understand British citizens being enraged as its their tax dollars but for me this is all silly fun. I guess I just never get the outrage over Kate, is she a great giving princess no she is nondescript but seriously she is a princess it is a joke of a job. It’s suppose to be scandles and fun for bad lifetime movies like fergie and Diana- at least that is how I view them.
They are meant to be something other than scandal sheet fodder. I doubt they ever will amount to more than that. You clearly know nothing about the constant work Diana did early on. No she is not a saint, but she was a solid working royal.
Security could be taken away, no matter their position to the throne. They can demand that William pony up £1 million to reimburse the taxpayer for security upgrades to the farmhouse in Wales when they refused to live on base.
He should pony up £1 million to reimburse the taxpayer for security upgrades to the Middleton’s private home. And be required to pay all the added expenses, delays, road detours, reserved ambulances, every time she runs home and lives with mummy in Berkshire.
They can require that these two pay for their own security out of William’s inheritance every time they leave the UK for vacation (Mustique, Maldives, France, Switzerland).
They can refuse to provide security for a couple that chooses to live apart, and will only provide security for one official residence (KP) but W&K would have to pay security anytime they are at a private residence (Anmer, Middleton Manor).
There are all kinds of ways that these two waste taxpayer money, especially around security. If they had to pay for the security for all of their personal quirks (William living by himself, her out shopping or living with her parents), their lives would be very different.
They should only receive perks in exchange for royal work. If they don’t do royal work, they don’t earn taxpayer-funded security or housing. Put them on strict apanage like Madeleine of Sweden; she is paid expenses for travel to royal events or for clothing for royal events.
At the level they’re working, they haven’t even earned Harry’s 1 bedroom apartment at KP.
Diana wasn’t a saint but both she and Charles seemed to do what was expected of them as royals in terms of work. And Kate and William don’t. The gap between both couples is pretty large.
And I don’t really care who was a saint and who wasn’t. Even Charles and Diana’s tawdry pasts can’t make Kate and William look well-functioning to me.
Plus, who knows whether Kate will avoid scandals in the future. She’s only been in the job for 4 years. Give her time — I’m sure something will happen like it does with the rest of them (barring death or something that would end her tenure as princess/duchess early).
I’m really baffled as to how William turned out the way he did. Both of his parents were passionate about their causes (even when everyone was making fun of Charles for talking to plants).
notasugarhere, I agree — and your first line is really summing it up for me.
Go, NOTA!
Nota
I think you covered it fairly perfectly!
LAK
Well summed of the cycling defense argument.
LAK – thanks.
Diana raised a lot of awareness about AIDS when it was taboo, and that was way before Diana and Charles’s marriage became a public mess. At that time, weren’t people scared of touching anyone with AIDS? She broke that barrier by being seen shaking hands with an AIDS patient without gloves on.
A lot of those old “photography books” on Charles and Diana can be found in the library, and those books clearly show Charles and Diana at various events in their diplomatic roles quite early on.
@NOTA like I’ve said repeatedly I just don’t care. I’m not a taxpayer of England so for me they are a useless tourist attraction and entertainment. Like I also said I understand if English taxpayers are mad they should be but for Americans to be is silly, who cares? This has nothing to do with us it’s just fun entertainment to us in the U.S.
Britain yep be pissed. But as an American just let me know when she is caught doing something scandalous until then why would I get upset. I would think the security is necessary but again I don’t know, just assuming based on our public officials.
And again not discounting Diana’s work but the constant comparison and saintification of her has gotten old. Yep she was a better princess no question but really it’s being a princess it’s not an important job, it’s a silly thing. As I also said Kate and William should do more but I feel like this is just a silly thing for anyone not paying taxes in England to care about.
Every trip they make stateside includes enormous security costs – paid by US taxpayers. If W&K are accomplishing nothing on these trips, they are costing US taxpayers for their uselessness. The recent gifts to their kids from Michelle Obama – did she pay for those herself or did the US taxpayers?
@nota again they rarely come here and I am a realist I rarely expect royal visits to accomplish anything. They have no real power. Now they should cover their own security, as I’m assuming we do. But as for the gift again this is protocol I can’t get upset about it it’s part of international relations.
Sorry I am not a fan of these two but I just can’t care enough to get upset. They are just silly people in a job that I have no respect for. It’s all fluff… To many real issues to get upset about then these silly fools that don’t affect me at all.
Debbie
The thing is the BR have power. And they exercise it. The stop bills. Have heavy influence regarding them and are in a way the their own regulators. If they were just figureheads and ornaments I would agree with you entirely.
Regarding their trips. A tour is on that countries cost. What WK have done so far is go for an extended visit, fit in a few events, and build in vacations between events so it’s all on the burden of that country.
And a terrible thing imo they do is apathy. You’re correct. There are many terrible issues out there right now! And these 2 have 1 of the largest and most popular positions in the world to simply say something or wear something and people listen. Kate records a prewritten message and that is all it takes to bring awareness. That this isn’t something they can make time for or care to continue is imo repugnant.
So, they do have an impact, but only for a few weeks at a time at best for visits. Outside of that they are poor examples of what they should be. The best of the UK. The embassadors to the world. And they fall short.
Outside of this there are some things that I don’t like, but can’t care enough to do more so I get your point. You can think it’s silly. And it is on the surface. Go any deeper and it’s shameful behavior that will not change without being monitored.
Nota
I think it’s illlegal for 1 country’s head to use tax funds to gift to other country heads of sorts. Obamas tend to pay for a lot out of pocket.
I think Kate and William purposely draw comparisons between themselves and Diana and Charles. No one forced Kate to appear in a similar blue polka-dotted dress to what Diana wore when she had William.
People are willing to see Kate as an individual, but William seems to want to draw comparisons between his wife and his mother.
The expenses should be separated. Harry is worth it but not the Cambridges. Harry brings lots of love and attention to many worthy causes.
yeah agree. he actually is out there for charities quite a bit. cambridges show up like what, a handful a year? if that??
Agreed. I almost think it would still be over 4 million if you took Harry out of the equation. Not worth it for those two lazy lumps.
I would never have said this of Harry ten years ago, but he clearly got the Queen and Queen Mum’s duty genes
(sadly missing in his brother – at least Catherine the Boring spends some time looking after the kids since mini Winston Churchill is too tiny to fake liking her and he clearly seems to be comfortable with his ma, but what the hell does Willy C. do?!)
Harry and the Cambridges are not worth it. Not for that much money.
I wish there was some way to show the ROI. Is Charles (& the British taxpayer) getting his money’s worth?
The silence is deafening LOL. Suffice it to say, as far as WK are concerned, Charles might as well be investing in speculative penny stocks. Harry however is blue chip all the way, maybe even worth his weight in gold.
I’d guess 60% goes to security and staff. Kate’s clothes aren’t costing Charles millions. Not even close.
Security costs are borne (and accounted for) by the police, Tessa. They’re part of the police budget. No security costs in there.
Further to what Sixer said, Kate’s clothes are paid by Charles who then gets a tax write off for those worn on official duties.
I suspect the same for William and Harry though it’s hard to gauge how much *their* clothing budget is. They seem to wear the same suits repeatedly. That makes it harder to notice when they splash out. Mind you, the suits they do wear, are bespoke saville row tailoring, so they aren’t cheap by any means. The DM once spotted new shoes and their maker’s ID which turned out to be £2K from John Lobb.
I’ve often wondered when we see Kate wear a dress that was purchased for an official appearance and then she is seen wearing it to a friend’s wedding, does that dress then become ineligible as a tax write off? It seems to be a mix of personal and business expenses at that point. And if the dress or jewelry was lent from Carole or Pippa, would they be able to deduct a percentage of the value?
Deedee: my guess is that where she wears official clothing in private, they write it off anyway.
I’d speculate the same where she wears her mother’s clothing because her mother doesn’t re-wear the clothes in public after they’ve been seen on Kate in an official capacity.
I think the question is probably this: do we think HMRC (IRS equivalent) launches investigations into what they do or don’t put down as tax write offs? Cos I don’t!
What about the money they inherited from their mother? Wasn’t that a sizable amount? Do they ever touch that?
William refuses to touch that money.
They probably invest it. I think she got 25 million pounds (maybe?). If it’s invested well, that could sizeable proportions like Jackie O’s estate did.
It was reported that William used a big chunk of his inheritance from Diana to help the Middletons upgrade their family pile…
http://www.celebitchy.com/236100/prince_william_gave_money_to_the_middletons_to_help_pay_for_their_new_manor/
I don’t know, Charles gets his money from Cornwall and I’d assume that’s dependent on how well it is managed. He voluntarily pays taxes on his income. If he wants to spend 5 million on his kids, why not?
At the end of the day, it isn’t really his to spend. He is the steward but ultimately not the owner, much like the Crown Estate doesn’t belong to the Windsors personally.
Why isn’t it his to spend? I’m not an expert on the particulars of how a duchy works, but it was my understanding that the duchy of Cornwall is his, as the prince of Wales. He cannot sell land, but that is the only restriction. Kind of like if I put my house into a trust and said it couldn’t be sold by my heirs. They can take rent money from it, but have to pass the physical property down. Is it different than that? I am fascinated by how this stuff works.
JMHO: think of it as a *goodwill rental whereby whoever happens to hold the POW title can keep the profits of the rent less expenses of upkeep. The royals are not named recipients.
*Should we decide to get rid of the monarchy, he would have to move out without compensation. He would have to fall back on his private income – separate from the duchy and probably not used much since he has the duchy money to fall back on.
What LAK said, jmho.
The duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall belong to the nation. Because we have a constitutional monarchy, the revenue from those duchies is given to specific members of the BRF for their upkeep AS members of the BRF.
If we converted to a republic, the duchies and their revenues would revert to the nation and the money would go into government coffers along with all the taxes. The BRF would retain whatever private wealth they have, but nothing that they hold on behalf of the nation.
How many times can I Gold Star what LAK and Sixer wrote? And send it all over tumblr?
I don’t understand part of your comment. Why is the money not Charles’ to spend? He is Prince of Wales and the Duchy of Cornwall is there to provide him an income. So I would think he absolutely can decide how to spend it. I know he can’t sell any of the actual Duchy itself; he doesn’t have ownership rights to that.
Doesn’t the Queen use the Duchy of Lancaster to fund some of her family?
While we retain the monarchy, bluhare, it is Charles’s to spend. I think what NOTA is getting at is the unspoken “contract” that comes with a constitutional monarchy. It’s his to spend, but not ENTIRELY without scrutiny or oversight. So long as the RF can be seen to be upholding its end of the bargain, then people are prepared to let the scrutiny and oversight go. But if it gets to the point where they’re “blatantly taking the p!ss”, as a Brit would put it, then they need to be told: that money isn’t actually YOURS, you know, it’s OURS, and we’re letting you have it on the basis of our constitutional pact. Stick to the damn pact!
That makes more sense, Sixer. Thanks.
Are you all painted up with woad today? That’s how I picture you in my minds eye, you know. 😀
Thank you Sixer, that is indeed what I meant.
No woad today! I might still run off to woadland with frisbeejada, though!
At least Prince Harry earns his keep.
Harry is great. Like any family or group, there are the lazy and the others who always pick up the slack. To me, generally speaking the worker bees are HM big time, and Prince P with her….then Charles (even if odd he works like a dog) Princess Anne, also.
+1
He might consider it worth it, just for the granddaughter.
I really wish they’d separate Harry from the Lamebridges. He’s working. They aren’t. He isn’t ordering $4-6M in renovations to a home he doesn’t live in. I think it’s seriously unfair to lump him in with them. Are they worth all that money? Heck no.
Forget the idea of a “rogue tenant.”
Right now, even more worrisome, is the fact HM could decide to go squatting at number ten. If that happens, we’re even more doomed with Charlie and especially William. Though, William is so lazy, he’ll say to his aristo friends; “hey, let’s use the helicopter for the next round of golf in Scotland.”
I was joking, perhaps next time I should place a :-)….. and for William’s golf game in Scotland I meant the helicopter used instead of a golf cart, because I’ve heard how remote and challenging those Scottish golf courses are indeed! Anyway I guess I’ll quit while I’m ahead but wait how pathetic is it to try a repair a comment and answer your own post at the same time so then I’m not really ahead to begin with.
Eureka!!! The Prince William Scottish golf game just gave me an idea. Why doesn’t KP organize that kind of charity event? The Prince William Invitational?
I like it! Helicopter golf! Like helicopter skiing, or helicopter hunting. Oh, geez, maybe we shouldn’t put these ideas out there, or people with more money than brains might go for it….
$4.6 million just doesn’t sound like that much money split between three rich kids, especially when compared to the likes of the Kardashians who eat that kind of money for lunch. I realize that doesn’t include a lot of things, like their housing, clothes, renovations, etc. but I’d really like to know the actual amount spent on Will & Kate annually because $2.3 million for a family of four seems almost paltry compared to American celebs.
Republic estimates the total annual amount of public/taxpayer support for all of them is in the region of £200m, bettyrose. That would include security and the lost government revenue from the two duchies. i don’t think anyone’s analysed which of them gets what proportion of that, however.
I haven’t had a chance to look at this report yet but £333.9m what republic.org released yesterday for annual cost to support BRF.
https://republic.org.uk/what-we-do/news-and-updates/monarchy-costs-taxpayer-%C2%A3334m-year-8-times-official-figure-new-report
Bloody hell! It’s gone up since the last time they did it. Thanks, MinnFinn.
Thanks Sixers & Minfinn. So, if each “working royal” costs £18.5 million ($30 mil), then two would cost £37mil (nearly $60million) annually. Those numbers are more realistic for the lifestyle we’re observing.
The biggest expense is supposed to be about £100m per year for protection. Each senior royal I believe has **at least ** 1 protection officer with them 24X7. And iirc there are 2+ that are always with George. FOI requests for the specific protection budget is implausibly refused because it would jeopardize security.
There is a 3 minute amateur youtube video of Kate playing with George at last Sunday’s polo match. I was fascinated to watch that because we only see glimpses of protection officers in mainstream media. But this video doesn’t cut them out. Two protection officers stay within 20 feet of George during the video. Anyway, its visual impact brings home the cost of having that level of 24X7 personal body guards for Liz, Phil, Charles, Camilla, Wm, Kate, George, Charlotte, and Harry.
Nine security personnel were counted when she went solo to her cousin’s wedding last year.
I love watching you have apoplexy, Sixer! Bloody hell, indeed.
I’ve had a particularly apopleptic day today, bluhare! Royal shenanigans out the wazoo, police being nasty to people in wheelchairs, political journalists creaming their drawers at the sight of Amal Clooney – the list is endless!
(Mr Sixer is reading over my shoulder and says to remind you that he calls me Great Gob Almighty for a very good reason!)
Tell Mr. Sixer we need no reminder. 😉
Mr. bluhare is also addicted to the women’s world cup too, btw. He thinks there’s been some “damned good soccer!”.
My question is…what exactly are they doing to spend nearly $5M in one year? And why aren’t the cost for the reno of their KP apartment not included? If it wasn’t paid for by the taxpayers, then who footed the bill? Has to be Charles & QEII? Seems like a lot of smoke and mirrors and hidden costs.
But the Kardashians make their own money. It made me made through famewhore means, but it really is their own money.
The royals would spark an uprising if they spent beyond what they already do.
I wonder how much Kate’s eyeliner costs. It’s so ugly. She needs a better brand.
Perplexed, ITA. I was just talking logistics. No way are the Cambridges living on a couple mil annually. That’s barely enough for a posh lifestyle in the UK. We have evidence of vacations and shopping that would burn through that kinda cash in short order.
KP: Yes, Sir, but, you asked for the numbers, and staff have provided this spreadsheet, and —
PC: I didn’t ask for an overly precise breakdown, though, did I? I hardly think the rabble cares to know how many coat dresses and bum-feather hats and hair extensions-by-the-barrel and holidays apart a happy elegant divinely-chosen modern young couple needs, eh? I hardly think the people below wish to waste a fine summer day pouring through a list of cans of paint and new furniture and slabs of marble flooring and Closets By Carole and by the metre, when they should be lining up buying their Tube tickets or lotto stubs or sweeping some street or frying some fish to support the economy, what ho? The people just want a cheery-up, ho? A get-to-know-how-nice-and give-y-The Prince of Wales is, eh? The quite nice line items, you see, such as, nappies for Prince George, or Duchy Cookies served at Women’s Teas, you see, or perhaps, yes, moneys spent resoling Kitty’s pair of wedges after all her walking about trying to make lists of clothes the peasants can afford. Fine girl, that Kitty, I knew a girl like her in Perth once, did make-up for circus people and raised rabbits, what ho. Bit more on top though, har, but her mum was a Baroness, and you know Baronesses, ho! But at least our Kitty isn’t one of foul puff-faced Andy’s pop eyed bleaters, eh? That’s Wodehouse of course! No, our pretty Kitty keeps her eyes squint! That’s fine! She’s done her bit, miner’s daughter anyway or something, right? People’s gal, ho?
KP: Yes, sir. I do beg your indulgence, however, you see, per your memo asking that we —
PC: I mean to say, my good man, this isn’t the time of year one says one spent a million or two dressing Kitty up and keeping her paddling up and down the King’s Road, eh? Or a million here and there for Wills to visit his Jecca for some R&R or pop out in the heli to see his mates at the corner, good practice that, among the people, see? Or his Ag course in Oxford or his flat there. One expects that! What one is curious about is why One is only seeing a hundred thousand or two for the Ginger Sprog, that wallomping show-off blister on the ass of my plans! Where are his numbers! Didn’t we rent London for his cry-baby soldiers or something? I want the numbers about how much I pay for that fawning red-headed jug of peasant love, see? Appearances, ho? Can’t have my Wills and Kitty looking like great sucking piglets at the moment, eh? Why are you protecting that ooh-love-me-people’s-chum Spencer brat, eh? Where are the millions he costs? My story is Willy and Kitty and the sprog barely cost the Duchy more, MODeST AMOUNTS, eh, use that, MODEST, as in they are Temperance and Virtue, eh? Must tamp down all the thighs-open gush gush for the Ginger Fart, eh? Must talk expensive useless Diana-like Ginger glob, eh?
KP: But, Sir, that was covered in Mr Harry’s works, charity, you see, and Mister Harry was off-setting, actually working — army rations, his inheritance, you see, appearances, children, kindnesses, and he can live on rations, and Indian takeaway from old Miss Cressida, and whatever they were serving in Australia on base and at parties and —
PC: Nonsense! Nonsense! We need to hint shall we say as if throwing a elephant made of bricks and fire at them, that sort of hint, that the carrot-topped freckled oh-aren’t-popular oh I am better loved than my dad or brother six foot two long posturing poop actually COSTS MORE, do you see my point? How much for his shorts? How much for his neck ties! Not even engaged, not even an heir, what he is now, tenth in line, so who cares, not worth it, show off attention grabby little polo god, Mr Save the Rhinos! Add it up, man! Or it’s your head, what ho! Jolly bloody staff can’t do Prince of Wales’ math, what? Heads roll, eh??
KP: ….very well, sir.
PC: Before you go, here’s a great English sort of joke the stoat-brained big-bummed Americans would never understand! Ready for it: It’s very easy going on holiday with vultures as they only ever have carrion luggage. Har! Har! Here’s another: Camilla has a daily blog, posting at length about her breakfast. It’s always nothing but waffle. HAR! I do love the Mirror’s Best Wordplay! We are a nation of giants, worth every penny, what, Reg, ho? It’s a fine time to have millions to spend and not be American, eh, eh? eh? ho!
KP: Very good, sir.
“carrion luggage” L O LLLLLLLLLLL
Oh, Liberty. I do love you.
Liberty, Huzzah!! 🙂
“ginger fart ” , “miners daughter”!!!! lol ur a treasure Liberty!missed ur posts
Dear god. Weeping.
“Carrion luggage”
“Stoat-brained big bummed Americans”
LOL! “Closets by Carole”…please don’t give her any more entrepreneurial ideas!
hahaha Happy Wednesday, my dears! 😉
The link to the Mirror WordPlay fun if you haven’t found it yet!
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/britains-best-word-play-uk-5148341
Ah, Liberty. You had me at “fawning red-headed jug of peasant love”.
bluhare, you know I wrote that just for you to savor 🙂
Sorry but I don’t see anything remotely funny. It’s just kind of mean.
maggie
I guess it depends on what kind of mood someone is in at any given time. Some days more cele BITCHY and some days not.
In my case, my focus has been on writing (a huge writing assignment) lately so I’m not feeling much except for wishing it was over.
The irony is quite breathtaking, maggie, as you wander through here never having anything nice to say about anything or anyone. In fact, some might find *your* comments mean.
Is this the same maggie from IMDB who’s a hardcore Cumberbatch fan?
Bluhare
You can’t see me, but i’m nodding in approval.
Glockenspiel says:
June 24, 2015 at 11:20 pm
Is this the same maggie from IMDB who’s a hardcore Cumberbatch fan?
No I’m not! I have no interest in him whatsoever.
Bluhare for an old white haired lady your comments towards me are rather immature. I have an opinion that differs from yours and the diehards on here. Is this thread just for people who want to “prig” constantly about the Royals?
FLORC you are comedy!
*snickers*
See maggie, there’s the bitchy in celebitchy!!!! 🙂 and I think it gets especially bad when the brits start to gang up on those who left for the new world 🙂
Brava!
How did Charles and Diana get their money when they were together? Did the Queen supply everything or did Charles have his own account then too?
And why does Harry get lumped in with Kate and William? I’d laugh if William is the one spending more than Kate and Harry.
I’m always baffled as to how the system actually works. It’s kind of their money, but kind of not? And then they have separate accounts — and one is considered theirs and the other isn’t? All in all, I think Charles does what he’s supposed to (even when young he seemed to be giving speeches about the environment and what not) but Kate and William need to do more work.
Charles was Prince of Wales when married to Diana so his income stream came from the Duchy of Cornwall then too.
$135K in flights to Brazil and Chile? WTH? DH and I spent 3 week in Paris in January and with the flights spent about $3K for the entire trip. I know the Royals obviously live at much higher standards (no shade), but that is an unbelievable sum. Literally unbelievable. I don’t know how it is possible.
It would be a private jet though, wouldn’t it? So salaries and fuel costs…
That sounds like a really good deal. Mind if I ask how you did it?
George’s grumpy face is priceless. So that’s worth it.
Eh, this is actually less money than I was expecting to have been spent.
Yes, from the looks of it the Cambridges are worth it, as are all the royals since the majority of the people ho pay for this monarchy keeps voting in favor of it.
Its absolutely ridiculous that they refuse to give a break down as they have in the past. To me that shows they are probably hiding just how much is being given to Will nd Kate. And being that their tax payers are paying for their life, can’t they demand to see a full account of the spending? How can they just refuse like that without having to answer to the public? If the IRS decides to audit me I can’t just refuse so I imagine they would have something similar for the royals.
And I agree with others, I don’t see why other countries have to pay for them to visit their countries.
HM and Charles had themselves exempt from FOI act where finances are concerned.
Further, any information they do make public is entirely voluntarily given.
Therefore we have to accept what they tell us.
I think after the kerfuffle of last year’s accounts that resulted in Kate being nicknamed 2-Kitchens Kate, and other extravagance, they’ve decided to simply present it as a lump sum.
Does anyone really vote in favour or not in favour of a monarchy though? It just kind of seems to stick around no matter what happens. I think people like the Queen however. When she dies, I’m not sure what will happen to the monarchy — and, no, I don’t think Charles will really be its downfall, because he’s too old for anyone to give that much thought to ousting him. It’s the generation after him that will probably cause doubts. And even then, I’m not sure how you’d (general “you”) really get rid of them. I figure the Parliament would have to say they don’t want the monarchy anymore, and I don’t know if they’d want to, unless the constituents threaten protests that will never end.
wow – in fairness, you’ll find host countries pay the bills for almost all diplomatic visits.
perplexed – no, nobody votes on or has voted on the monarchy. It’s a constitutional settlement we have, that was developed over centuries. If we ever did, it would be via a referendum. No political party includes republicanism in its manifesto here, largely because there is no appetite for it. If the Scots had voted for independence last year, they were still intending to keep ER as head of state. I think what will happen in the next couple of generations is that the prominence (and hopefully cost!) of the monarchy will dwindle to continental European levels.
I would find it downright embarrassing to be a highly educated, able-bodied adult living off my parents for millions a year for almost no return on investment (i.e. WORK). Especially when William has money of his own! It makes me ill to think of how much money is being spent on people and things that are completely frivolous when there is so much want in the world.
And what a gift it would be to bring attention to worthy causes and to make a difference in so many lives. I’m so disappointed that WillNot treats it like a burden.
@ Deedee
” I’m so disappointed that WillNot treats it like a burden.”
That’s what I don’t like to see too. I’ve seen him complain in interviews and I think he just needs to lighten up. He has no special interest in anything to commit himself to, so he should just tough it out and do his charity work until he figures out what he does want to focus on in his work life. Fake it til you make it.
He does work! He donates his pay to a charity. He has money he inherited. I don’t think he likes to share his privacy and I don’t blame him considering what happened to his mother. People on here really don’t like to give this guy a break. Just nit-pick at trivial things. Just maybe he wants to give his children a more balanced and normal life compared to the older Royals. Charles basically grew up without a mother or father. Some of the comments I find unfair and untrue.
Maggie, he hasn’t worked in almost two years since he quit SAR two years before it was going private. Right now he is in training to be a co-pilot at EAAA. See the previous thread where I quoted the press release from Clarence House.
They said once he will donate his salary after taxes to charity, but they haven’t said anything since about how much or to what charity. He does not spend his inheritance; their personal and private expenses (minus security) are paid out of the Duchy – the point of this article.
Working parents are not bad parents. W&K are being asked to work 10-20 hpw for charity in exchange for their ridiculous lifestyle. This is not a burden. It does not tear them away from their children. He is going to be spending 40hpw away from them “working” eventually for EAAA, instead of working 10-20 hpw at charity. He is choosing to spend more time away from the kids then he has to. She chooses to spend a lot of time away from the shopping and grooming, time she could use for charity work.
All of the other royals have managed to raise their children privately in the country WHILE working royal engagements. It isn’t hard. It is pathetically EASY.
It’s quite telling that you have to bring up Diana’s ghost and throw HM’s parenting under the bus in order to try to make him look good. There’s an obvious difference in work ethic between him and other royals, including many who are far further down the line than he. Go find the tally of his appearances and you’ll see that even padding his numbers doesn’t bring him close to working royals twice his age. And privacy? He has buckets of it. Estates where he can hide out, staff that sign nondisclosure agreements, and British journos that are afraid to call him out. He wants anonymity, not privacy, and “normality” that includes all the royal perks. But he hasn’t earned it. Not by a long shot. And at this point I don’t see even a glimmer of commitment in that grown man’s eye.
Ummmmm, the Obamas spend this to go to Hawaii for a WEEK.
Seriously, calm yourselves people
Remind me again. Did Obama earn his position in the world? Oh that’s right, he did. If people didn’t want him in office, they wouldn’t have voted him in twice OR they would impeach him to get him out.
No valid comparison between Obama and William.
Show me a figure that supports this claim. Not even rolling in the many differences between the 2 families.
Prime Minister Harper spent a million dollars flying an armoured car to India. Don’t think for a second Obama lives on the cheap.
It’s just astounding that after 7 years, people are still resentful of the POTUS and his family taking a vacation. Or is this comment an invitation to rehash the previous president’s vacation time and the cost of that family’s overseas trips? On top of that, comparisons between the POTUS in any aspect, to include expenses and level of responsibility and duties, and the BRF is ludicrous.
No comparison. The President is never really on vacation. He still has work and briefings each day, and could have his vacation interrupted at any time due to a crisis. His trips to Hawaii need to be seen with the perspective that he was born there and has family there. Who criticized former presidents for going “home” to Arkansas or Texas? At least he is not taking that money outside the country, like a certain lazy pair that disappear to Mustique and spend more time there per year than they spend visiting their patronages in a year.
I think Kate’s wardrobe costs around $35,000.00 per year. This was reported a couple of years ago.
There’s no way! Four of her gowns cost that much! Those designer gowns she wears cost about 10k each! Maybe more! I net she spends about 200k on clothes each year, easily!
I think I remember reading that. It wasn’t for a year though. It was the cost for a tour.
Wasn’t it reported in the DM in 2012 that she spent $165K USD in just 6 months from January to June of that year…and that was putting in less than 50 appearances during all those months?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2165211/Kate-Middletons-105k-wardrobe-Duchess-Cambridge-worth-penny-says-LIZ-JONES.html
There’s a breakdown of her outfits. One outfit cost as much as $11,100 USD altogether but the dress that was the most expensive one was hidden by the dull-coloured coat paired with equally blah accessories. Yikes.
Most of her outfits are very expensive but ill-fitting and badly tailored. She’s spending so much money on her vanity and image, and can’t even do a great job of it.
Charles should give her a lot of money to find an amazing tailor/seamstress who will make her clothes fit for the few appearances she decides to make. So much money for so little work, and she can’t even hit it out of the park with her outfits.
In 2012, she wore a McQueen belt that cost $2200 all by itself. No way that figure is right.
The outfits for the Australia and New Zealand vacation/tour/vacation were estimated at $65,000.
Maybe for one event – add a few more zero’s and i think you’ll be closer to the truth. She spends a LOT on designer clothes and then forks out again for them to be badly tailored. Considering how little she does – the ROI isn’t worth it. Willy is just as bad but he has a ‘job’. She gets shaded more as she’s never had one and has spent her adult life living off others – now that Chuck is picking up her clothes bill, she’s gone a bit designer shopping mad. Gone are the days of borrowing her mothers and sisters clothes.
Are the Cambridges worth it? That is the question! To me, a mere plebe, no they are not.
Luckily it’s not my money who is funding them. I feel sorry for those who are……………
Harry has some potential, but even with his work schedule and special perks, he might be pushing it a bit.
This whole dynasty bullshit needs to go away in the modern world, IMO.
And I’m serious re- KP should try to set up a Scottish Golf Charity match featuring WILLIAM and CATHERINE.
If I send a letter by the end of June, maybe we can get the idea going? Though it seems Andrew is the only real golfer of the family and does anyone really want him showing up? In other words, I’m not sure he’s rescued his image from the underage scandal or if he’ll ever really recover.
Interesting post over on HeavyAreTheCrowns with behind the scenes pictures at polo. Ones the big publications aren’t publishing, including PGTips being reprimanded for hitting another child with his toy. Oh, and a photo of Harry, PGTips, and Charles together.
link?
Link:
http://heavyarethecrowns.tumblr.com/post/122375960584/i-think-you-guys-will-enjoy-this
Interesting and shows that that the media are heavily promoting Kate in a positive light prob under orders by KP. They only showed images that portray her as a dotting mother who spends most of her time as home with the children. While they are close as a family – Kate isn’t as isolated as the press lead us to believe.
And George – well we all know he’s a handful, seems he takes after his father with the ‘tude. Thou i love a toddler with a ‘tude just as long as i can give them back to their parents.
Thanks Betti for posting that link. George is indeed a handful but then what 2 yr old isn’t?
Now back to my big writing project. No, not including the letter planned for KP.
That letter can wait, that’s for sure.
Thanks for that link. Always a good reminder–what we see/read is always the result of somebody else’s selection.
It is interesting there is no proof. It was submitted anonymously. Could be fact, could be the photographer submitting it himself to get traction. Could be official PR.
The post states she was hanging out with adults, but the photos show no proof. Would dozens of photographers overlook the money shot of Charles, Harry, PGTips, and Middleton together? I doubt that.
That is a known anti-W&K blog. People submit photos to her and try to catch her saying it is or isn’t Kate Middleton (she out shopping instead of being sick, another photo was Natalie Portman in a hat). Why submit a positive piece to an anti-W&K blog?
W&K, the PR, obsessional fans, and manipulation of traditional AND social media. All of that would make an interesting study.
If they want to be “normal” perhaps it would be more believable if they gave up the royal budget. How long was Charles on the Queen’s dime?
Until he was 21 when he became Prince of Wales – a title that came with a large income/inheritance, various estates etc… He’s been financially independent for a LOONG time.
He was granted Duke of Cornwall when he was 3 yrs old and Prince of Wales when he was 10yrs old. His investiture as Prince of Wales came at 21.
The important date is when he was named as the Duke of Cornwall, cemented later as POW because from that moment onwards, he had the right to income from the duchy of Cornwall.
Whether that income contributed to his upkeep as a growing child from 3yrs to 21yrs is unknown. Most people assume it was simply held in an ever growing trust until he reached 21yrs old.
He has essentially been financially independent from HM since he was 3yrs old.
To answer the original question – No, I do not think William and Kate are worth it and frankly I am beginning to doubt whether any of the royals are. Why should they be kept in this splendour? They have done nothing to earn it. I do know that some of them work very hard doing engagements but they would still have this amount of wealth even if they did not. I remember watching a programme a few years back about a year in the life of the Queen or something similar. What struck me and this had not struck me before, was all the beautiful things with which the Queen is surrounded. I think they showed a banquet at Windsor and the cutlery, china, furniture, paintings, jewellery the women wore were just fabulous. I visited Buckingham Palace two years ago and the gardens were just great as was the inside. I also visited an exhibition at the V & A Museum in London a year or two ago which featured pearls and they had a beautiful evening gown on show which the Queen had worn to a state visit to Paris around 1956. The dress was encrusted with pearls and absolutely fabulous and must have cost thousands and thousands of pounds to make. By the way, maybe somebody else has already said this but as far as I am aware Balmoral and Sandringham belong personally to the Queen. They are not part of what the nation owns. When Edward VIII abdicated in 1936, the new King, George VI, had to buy Balmoral and Sandringham with his own money from Edward VIII.
Just to add – Diana’s divorce settlement from Charles gave her £17M. It was a slightly strange amount but I think it was so that she would have roughly £1M per year to fund herself which was what interest rates from capital of £17M were in those days. The capital must also have increased though through good investment as William and Harry were left more than £17M.
Take this with a lot of salt. From the Telegraph, Diana ‘took Charles to cleaners’ in divorce, says his banker.
“The Prince of Wales was “taken to the cleaners” and handed over his entire personal fortune to Diana, Princess of Wales, as part of their divorce settlement, his former personal financial adviser has revealed.
Geoffrey Bignell, who handled Prince Charles’s financial affairs for more than a decade until 1996, disclosed that the heir to the throne was forced to sell his entire investment portfolio to meet the demands of the Princess.
“Princess Diana took every penny he had,” Mr Bignell told the Telegraph last week. “I was told to liquidate everything, all his investments, so that he could give her the cash. He was very unhappy about that. That’s when I stopped being his personal financial adviser because he had no personal wealth left. She took him to the cleaners.”
As part of the divorce in July 1996, Diana reportedly received a lump sum of £17.5 million and an allowance for her private office. The Queen also allowed her and the Waleses’ two sons, Princes William and Harry, to continue to live in Kensington Palace.”