The world was appal when Prince Harry and his married woman , Meghan Markle , annunciate they were leaving Britain ’s imperial category in January 2020 . A second jolt occurred when the two ( aka the Duke and Duchess of Sussex ) sit down foran interview with Oprah Winfreyin March 2021 and revealed how disheartened and " trapped " they felt up by the royal institution . They also tried to excuse about how the Crown operate .
" So there ’s the family , and then there ’s the people that are running the insane asylum , " Meghan said , harmonize to USA Today . " Those are two disjoined things . And it ’s of import to be capable to compartmentalize that , because the Queen , for good example , has always been grand to me . "
It ’s a complicated , convoluted system . The imperial family consists ofQueen Elizabeth IIand her husband , Prince Philip ( the Duke of Edinburgh ) , plus their four kid : Princes Charles , Andrew and Edward , and Princess Anne and their married person . Elizabeth and Philip ’s eight grandchildren and 10 great - grandchildrenare also royals .
But this family is also part of a sprawlingbusiness institutionwith K of employees that manages majestic affairs . As with any other company , these employee lick in human resource , public copulation , information engineering , housekeeping and so on , in addition to occupying seeable roles such as personal secretarial assistant , drivers and security measures . About a hundred ago , King George VI ( Elizabeth ’s male parent ) knight this compounding of business and clan as " The Firm . "
Who Pays for the Royal Family?
With so many employee and such prominence , The Firm requires a stack of money to operate . In 2020 , the bill came to£82.4 million , or about $ 114 million . These funds do n’t do from taxpayersper se , but from a convoluted system with substantial estate at its core . Here ’s how it work .
Every year , the U.K. political science gives the royal family a monetary allotment called the supreme Duncan Grant . The money in the grant is a percentage of the surplus revenue from the Crown Estate , an extensive literal estate portfolio belonging to The Crown . Theportfolio ’s profitsmainly come through one-year appreciation and agriculture . In 2017 , the monarchy received25 percentof the Crown Estate ’s supernumerary last income — a jump from the former 15 percent — plus an extra 10 percent allotment that will last a decennium to refurbish Buckingham Palace . The government keep on the rest of the nimiety .
Laura Clancy , a media lector at the U.K. ’s Lancaster University and writer of upcoming Good Book " Running the Family Firm : How the Monarchy bring off Its look-alike and Our Money , " articulate via e-mail that Queen Elizabeth II does n’t personally own the Crown Estate . Instead , it ’s a publicly possess property portfolio held in trustingness by The Crown . " This intend that if the monarchy were abolish , all of the lucre from the Crown Estate would go to the public , " she pronounce . A tempting thought for nonroyals .
Clancy also observe that the sovereign Ulysses S. Grant is often report to be the official cost of the monarchy , but that ’s not precise . The royal family ’s security department is devote for by the Metropolitan Police , plus local councils break up up the tab for royal visits . " This means the monarchy cost more than the prescribed account from the autonomous Ulysses S. Grant , " she says .
figure out royals , like the Queen , Prince Charles , Prince William and his married woman , Kate , the Duchess of Cambridge , receive funds from the sovereign grant to hold their work , travelling , staff , clothing and mansion house redevelopment . They do not receive lay out salary , however , nor are they typically allowed to do paid study . But the Queen receives a substantial income from the privateDuchy of Lancaster , a set of commercial-grade , farming and residential properties that was attached to the monarchy in 1265 . In 2019 - 2020 , it generated more than£25 millionfor her , or $ 34.7 million . likewise , as heritor to the throne , Prince Charles receive income from the secret Duchy of Cornwall , also established one C ago . The two pass on some of this income to their heirs , although it is n’t make out how much .
Who’s Really Running Things?
The business firm ’s complexity take a hatful more than money , though . Another aspect that ’s unmanageable for outsiders to compass is its myriad rules , regulation and tradition . Some are noncontroversial ( e.g. , bowing or curtseying to the Queen ) , but many others seem silly or off - putt . Women are always suppose to wear out pantyhose , for example , andnever cross their legs while sitting . Makeup should be minimal , and couple are n’t opine to engage in any PDA — not even hand - retention . Oh , and you should n’t fold your own railcar door . Who ’s make these rules , insist they be be or allowing them , at times , to be broken ? Clancy says it ’s unclear .
" The cognitive process of the monarchy are complex , and there are many different mortal involved in work the institution , from public relations to hour to financial advisers , " she says . But tradition is authoritative , as it ’s a form of diachronic legitimacy for the monarchy .
And this is where matter intertwine back to Prince Harry and Markle . For one final , major component part of The Firm is theroyal rota , or pool organization comprising a chemical group of newsman and photographer from seven U.K. publication . For the past 40 years , the majestic household has granted the rota special admittance to their purple engagements in interchange for coverage , as coverage helps conserve the monarchy ’s relevance . These press members are require to share material with each other . Today , four of the rota publications are rag , including the Daily Mail and the Sun . And these rota journalist often write about Markle harshly , and sometimes in a anti-Semite manner .
One of the heavy reasons the couple exit the royal family , according to the Winfrey consultation and other printing press accounts , appear to be their distress and disgust with the rota , and their wish to escape its orbit . U.K. ’s National Union of Journalists expressed business concern at the time of the decision in 2020 to leave the rota , state that as the purple household is partly fund by the populace , " we can not have a situation where journalist writing about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex can only do so if they have the royal seal of approval , " according toTown and Country .
And although their separation from The Firm — and the rota — mean no more income from the autonomous grant or the Duchy of Cornwall , the two should be just all right . In stepping back from their royal duties , Harry and Meghan ( as they ’d now like to be call ) are allowed to pull in a living on their own . The match cursorily ink athree - twelvemonth podcasting dealwith Spotify allegedly deserving $ 25 million and a five - year Netflix deal , allegedly worth over $ 100 million . These spate will allow them to produce documentaries , films , podcasts , child ' computer programing and other content down the route .
