“In this, it’s all about perception”
This single line summarises the lives and assets of the working royals, perhaps the perfect individuals to represent the country of Great Britain- holding old history of religion and global dominance, coupled subtly with the modern brand of thinking and progress in the 21st century. The brand of the Monarchy supports the lives of all of us through public services and infrastructure, but beneath this empirical mound of capitalism and monarchy lies the people. Whether we like it or not, we fund their income, we pay for their services and most importantly, we don’t question any of it. We accept these taxes and unwillingly use their services. All of this for what again? To see them visit an orphanage or cancer hospital and, in that acute posh accent, give those helpless children their deepest condolences. I bet anybody can try to do that, if not quite in that same accent. This begs the question: why should we bother to fund the royals, and what, if anything, do we have to gain?
A £1.29. This is the number we directly paid to the royals last year. With the population now bordering 70 million, each penny adds up to a handsome sum entitled as the Sovereign Grant. And this doesn’t even include the 86 million pounds King Charles received to refurbish Buckingham Palace, expected to be given again this year. The royals themselves don't even do that much work- they are confined to smiling out of the window, inaugurating important sporting events and meeting people in crisis. Can this really justify the giant paycheck the government has to pay the royals, only looking like it will go up and up from here?
And their assets- The Royals hold almost 2 million acres of agricultural land and forest, easily more than half of Britain's foreshore, including multiple private properties and real estate. In fact, I bet none of you here know that Apple’s leading store on Regent Street has been in fact rented from the royal family. And perhaps most controversially, the royals single-handedly own the Duchy of Cornwall and Lancaster. For some reason, as it isn't subject to inheritance tax, they hold values near the billions. How can this be fair, when everybody else is subject to almost greedy tax margins from the government?
Whilst some might argue that the Royal brand also contributes 2.5 billion pounds to our economy, why does this make the king deserving of a handsome paycheck? After all, it almost seems as if we're putting a price on somebody's name- if these supposedly public facilities are managed by the people, surely the profits should go to the people as well. If the monarchy truly wants to respect our people through selfless sacrifice, surely they should abandon their almost embarrassing personal finances. And if the needy are struggling to pay the bills and make do with what little they have, surely these are the people who deserve that money more? Our country is a democracy, and I know we should try to keep it this way.
In fact, in 1973, the late Queen sent a formal request to the government to help hide the true size of her stash from the public! If we are subject to careful examination of our paychecks, how is the queen any different? Wouldn't this actually make more sense if we were at least allowed to see the figures with our own eyes, let alone accept them?
I hope you now see the ugly side of this almost shameful matter with open eyes, and learn to question those in power, whether they seem like tyrants or peacemakers. Nobody is perfect and we should learn to strive for freedom. If our generation doesn't do so, nobody will. This is my oath to equality, and I'm sure it will be your oath as well.
