Not dipping into Royal Purse

Please remember that some royal properties are owned by the Crown, ie the people, the government gets almost all of the profits from these. However, some properties belong to the royal family personally - and yes the Queen does pay tax!

Please remember Saetana that we're not children and that all these points have already been discussed on this thread.

Saetana

Senior members of the Royal Family who carry out royal duties get something from the Sovereign Grant. Nobody else gets a penny - and all the money from the Crown Estates goes into government coffers, the Royal Family only get a small amount back.

“Sovereign Grant”. This has been set at 25% of surplus revenue from the crown estate - a publicly-owned property portfolio - resulting in a payment of £82 million

However, the Sovereign Grant is just one part of the total cost of the monarchy. The royal family's security bill is picked up by the metropolitan police, for example, while the costs of royal visits are borne by local councils.

Meanwhile, income from the Duchy of Lancaster and the Duchy of Cornwall – despite belonging to the nation - goes directly to the Queen and Prince Charles respectively, depriving the treasury of tens of millions of pounds every year.

When all this hidden expenditure is included, the real cost of the monarchy to British taxpayers is likely to be around £345m annually.

Republic's royal finances reform charter proposes the following simple reforms, to improve accountability, transparency and fairness in royal finances and to appropriately assign public funds to the Treasury.

Parliament to set an annual fixed budget for the monarchy - including an annual salary for the Queen - to be managed and reported on by a government department, not Buckingham Palace.
All security costs to be made transparent and accountable.
All costs of royal visits around the country to be incorporated into the monarchy's budget, not met by local authorities.
The institution of the monarchy, and all members of the royal household, to be required to abide by the same tax laws and rules as all other public bodies and private individuals.
The Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall to be fully investigated by parliament with a view to transferring them into public ownership, with all revenue going to the Treasury.
The Crown Estate to be renamed 'the National Estate' and its status clarified through amendment of the Crown Estate Act.

Can I just point out that the Dutch princess isn't refusing the money completely.

She's decided she wants a "gap" type year or two and won't take the cash until she takes up royal duties. - which may only be a year or two away.
And it's a mind boggling amount.

The Dutch Princess has the sense to see that accepting public money she doesn't need gives her brownie points.

The British RF could learn a thing or two from that.

Alegrias she's not rejecting it entirely you know. Only while she's not in education or doing royal duties.

She is not accepting money she doesn't need. It's not that hard to understand, unless you're a UK royal, I guess.

Oh, I agree Alegrias but she says she will accept it once she's doing royal duties.
That's my point.
She doesn't expect to "do without" () forever.

As opposed to our royals who want everything, now?

Anniebach

Grany again I ask, where in Wales do the royal family live,
you keep saying they only visit charities they live close to, if they do not live in Wales you are posting an untruth, how can
the other claims you make be taken as truth

William and Kate visited Wolverhampton recently but I don’t think they plan to live here, yet!

I didn’t know Camilla lived in South Wales ?

Saetana

Senior members of the Royal Family who carry out royal duties get something from the Sovereign Grant. Nobody else gets a penny - and all the money from the Crown Estates goes into government coffers, the Royal Family only get a small amount back.

So is it fair or reasonable to also allow them to not pay any taxes on the income they receive from other sources? The Duchy of Lancaster for example is run as a business, but pays no capital gains tax. Would you think it was OK for Alan Sugar to take a job as a shelf stacker at a supermarket for a small wage and then be allowed to run the rest of his businesses tax free?

Are THEY bothered by what the public think? I don't think so as long as the money keeps flowing they will take it.
Though we will still all look at their photos in grand's old gown made into a wedding dress and Oh and ah. We perpetuate it by showing interest and buying magazines and newspapers featuring them.
I have photos of both my grans as young women I don't think either could have loaned a dress that would stand as a wedding dress, my mum certainly didn't hers had been borrowed from her sister.

I've read the first page of comments. I think that's enough for me. Will never understand support for monarchy.

They are bothered by what the public think but are confident that any loss of popularity will soon be forgotten as there are enough staunch Royalists in the UK to gloss over any justifiable criticism. Even here on GN there are posters who defend Andrew and laud the Queen for carrying on the traditions of a bygone age. The Dutch Royals are having a spell of being unpopular just now so perhaps their subjects will be appeased by this gesture by the heir to the throne. Perhaps she will step aside from that too, who knows.

Anniebach

I didn’t know Camilla lived in South Wales ?

Shhh, don't tell anyone but I'm sure I saw her putting the bins out next door.

Alegrias1

She is not accepting money she doesn't need. It's not that hard to understand, unless you're a UK royal, I guess.

I don't think they accept money they don't need, only what is needed to carry out Royal duties.
They have enough private money to fund their private lives as has been pointed out so many times by helpful posters..

Alegrias1

She is not accepting money she doesn't need. It's not that hard to understand, unless you're a UK royal, I guess.

Is she taking out a student loan and living in a grotty student flat eking out her budget by eating lentils every meal?

She could have just kept quiet about it too.

For those who want to know what the Sovereign Grant (the money that is paid to the monarch for doing the job of monarching) is spent on.

www.royal.uk/sites/default/files/media/sovereign_grant_2019-20_summary.pdf

I imagine that this is properly audited! There doesn't seem much left to squirrel away to increase the royal bank balance.

Just for clarity - I don't care how much they get paid by us for doing their job.

I do care that they take advantage of their situation, which is an accident of birth, to play the system and decide how much tax they'd like to pay. To tell us that they are so generous, when they are adding to their fortunes quicker that any person on earth could spend it.

I don't mind people being well off. I do worry about them being almost deified because they work into their nineties and occasionally turn up for charitable events.

I imagine that this is properly audited! There doesn't seem much left to squirrel away to increase the royal bank balance You are perfectly right Elegran there won't be much, but then why would they need much? They're happily squirreling away millions tax free.

That's the relevant thing, I think.

They're not doing anything illegal about their money, I expect. Its just that we are happy to have one rule for them and one rule for us. Well I'm not happy, but you know what I mean.

I don't deify them but I am relaxed about the status quo.

Can't be bothered with yet another election of yet another unknown every 4 years and all that entails, I prefer some stability.

#BrendafromBristol

How about a compromise Brenda ?

We stick with a Royal Family, but only the direct line of succession, we don't expect all the other members of the family to do "Royal Duties" and they all have to follow the same fiscal rules and laws as the rest of us?

Deal?