'No one to compare it to!' Queen spending defended as Royal Family pivotal to UK
THE Queen's spending has been defended as the Royal Family was deemed a pivotal asset to the UK.
Royal family: Richard Fitzwilliams discusses value of monarchy
The Royal Family have come under fire recently due to concerns over their spending, in particular during the current tough financial period. Speaking on Thursday's BBC Breakfast, royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams defended the Queen by stating that the family are crucial from a "ceremonial point of view", adding that there's "nothing else to compare it to".
In regards to the recent debate, Naga Munchetty asked Mr Fitzwilliams: "How do you tangibly say, this is value for money.
"What do you compare it to?"
Mr Fitzwilliams replied: "There isn't anything else to compare to it to, other than the other Royal Families throughout the world, I think there are 27 in all.
"If you look at the profile of ours, you haven't got any equal."
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He added: "It's not just the question of tourism, it's not also a matter [of] trips abroad.
"The top use, I would suggest, of British soft power, some of them, such as the Caribbean are less successful than others given changes in that area and, obvious, should be looked at for future royal tours.
Mr Fitwilliams added: "Also you've got the charitable aspect of it, you'll note in the report, 2,300 engagements, a lot of those virtually.
"The Queen, as we know, [is] an expert at broadcasting virtually.
Queen joined by Prince Charles and Camilla on balcony
"She has done over 200 up, that's almost double the previous year"
He noted that there's been an increase in royal travel which you would expect since the pandemic.
"You've got to essentially pay for your first family and of course, the security costs aren't revealed but the facts are the monarchy, from the ceremonial point of view, you don't get anything remotely similar."
He also pointed out the media interest in the Royal Family.
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Earlier this month, thousands celebrated the Queen's Platinum Jubilee over a four-day bank holiday weekend.
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This money helped fund the Queen’s Birthday Parade on Thursday June 2, as well as the Saturday evening’s Platinum Party. This worked out to costing an estimated £1 to each UK household.
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