They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace, Christopher Robin went down with Alice….”
They’re spreading the wealth and nailing down the Royal Family Government “stipend” in Britain. This is a constitutional “watershed.” [Independent]
Revealed: The secret deal that changed the monarchy
Sovereign’s debt crisis sparked 2006 agreement surrendering ultimate financial autonomy
By Robert Verkaik, Home Affairs Editor
Thursday, 23 September 201o
The Queen has been forced to give up the ultimate right to manage the Palace’s financial affairs in a secret deal signed by Palace aides and the Government, The Independent has learnt.
A “financial memorandum” formalising the relationship between the sovereign and ministers also sets out tough terms on how the Queen can spend the £38.2 m handed over by Parliament each year to pay for her staff and occupied palaces.
The document, disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act, grants ministers the constitutional right to take over the direct management of the Queen’s public wealth in the event of a disagreement over how the subsidy is awarded or spent. [ Read further here]
DarcsFalcon
September 24, 2010
What cruelty, what a miserly sum, to force the Queen to subsist on the bare minimum of $60 million (USD) a year! *flings back of wrist to forehead* Woe! Oh the horror of it all!
The whole monarchy thing is kind of interesting, and I confess I’ve always been enamored with it, but throwing that much public money at what now amounts to little more than a decoration is kind of … I dunno, it just seems wrong somehow, especially when she has her own personal wealth. But I think the British now have a whole other notion of what we term entitlements.
Oh, you might find this article interesting though – found it over on Bookworm’s site.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1314720/Only-100-Britons-gay-despite-myth–71-public-say-Christian.html
Oh yeah, one more thing I keep forgetting to ask you! Do you do the FaceBook thing at all?
samhenry
September 24, 2010
I do the facebook thing barely. I hate to exchange e-mail there and give out info but I do read the stuff of “friends.”
I view the monarchy as history and report on it. I do enjoy the pomp and ceremony. They are realists. Andrew was interviewed recently and said that in the future, fewer of them will be on any public funds and fewer will undertake public duty. Times will change. Muslims will not want to support a queen who is also head of a religion other than theirs.
steve
September 24, 2010
Hey Sam!
Just stopping by to say hello. I hope you’re doing okay.
samhenry
September 25, 2010
No kidding, I was just thinking about you today. I’m surviving the car purchase process. My next post is out on it. It nearly killed me. I think the end is in sight. I’m off to be but will catch up with you tomorrow sometime.