The royal family is one of the strangest phenomenons in modern times. In the old days, they were believed to be the leaders of a country chosen by God with the next generation destined to lead the country to greatness. In modern times we have come to our senses a little bit and know that none of that is true. Yet many countries still support their royal families even though they don’t lead the country and are really just normal everyday people. The British royal family is the most famous. Let’s see how much they cost taxpayers every year and how they spend their money.
The British taxpayers pay the royal family an average of $104 million dollars every year. They pay this money to a group of people who do absolutely nothing. This would be the equivalent of the American people paying millions to the Kardashians every year. It makes no sense.
Not all of the $104 million goes towards the lifestyle of the royal family. $42 million of this amount goes towards the refurbishments of palaces and royal homes. It could be argued that some of these are historic and beautiful buildings and would need to be supported whether the royal families lived in them or not.
However, over $1 million dollars is spent on travel every year. The royal family often spend time in commonwealth countries visiting the people and seeing some of the landmarks of their colonial past. $14 million is spent on charitable causes every year which is fantastic. Although how much could go to charity if there was no royal family at all?
The members of the royal family don’t have everything so easy. Every moment of their lives is under intense scrutiny and anything they wear, drive, or use is judged by everyone including this article. Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle have been the subject of magazine covers since they joined the royal family. The outfit they choose to wear on any day can set off fashion trends in the country or relentless mocking.
Meghan Markle likes to wear a gold bracelet that is estimated to be worth over $6,000. While she has made her own fortune through her successful acting career people still like to judge her choices as they feel they have paid for it with taxpayer money. This bracelet doesn’t come close to the fortunes that have been spent on cars by the royal family in the past. Prince Phillip has a known love of cars with his most favorite his 1954 Aston Martin Lagonda. It was auctioned off in 2016 for over $600,000.
It is no surprise then that Meghan and her husband made the decision to leave their royal family duties behind. They wanted a life of financial independence away from their royal requirements. Some have criticized this decision as they feel Harry has benefited from being a royal so much and now at an age when he can start to repay the value he is leaving. No one should be a prisoner to their past though and if Harry sees a better life outside the royal family, he should pursue it.
Tradition in countries and culture are important and should be respected. However, when that tradition is costing $104 million dollars every year it should be looked at with scrutiny. There are huge financial burdens in the public health care system of the U.K. If they were able to inject 10%, 20%, or 50% of that amount into public health each year the benefits would be enough to save countless lives. The decision to keep an old monarch in riches instead of looking after the average population is one that continues to surprise.