British Monarchy and its influence upon governmental institutions
A number of vacancies occur on a regular basis,
including positions as housemaids, footmen and secretaries. In addition, nearly
200 Wardens are employed each year for Buckingham Palace's Summer Opening
programme. Speculative enquiries are welcome for these posts throughout the
year.
Recruitment is in all cases on merit, in terms of
qualifications, experience and aptitude. The Royal Household is committed to
Equal Opportunities.
ANNIVERSARIES
Since 1917, the Sovereign has
sent congratulatory messages to those celebrating their 100th and 105th
birthday and every year thereafter, and to those celebrating their Diamond
Wedding (60th), 65th, 70th wedding anniversaries and every year thereafter. For
many people, receiving a message from The Queen on these anniversaries is a
very special moment.
For data privacy reasons, there is no automatic alert
from government records for wedding anniversaries. The Department for Work
and Pensions informs the Anniversaries Office of birthdays for recipients of UK
State pensions. However, to ensure that a message is sent for birthdays and
wedding anniversaries alike, an application needs to be made by a relative
or friend in advance of the special day.
The Queen's congratulatory messages consist of a card
containing a personalised message with a facsimile signature. The card comes in
a special envelope, which is delivered through the normal postal channels.
More information about applying for a message and
interesting facts about the tradition are contained in this section.
ROYAL FINANCES
This section provides the latest information on Head
of State expenditure, together with information about Royal financial
arrangements.
It includes information about the four sources of
funding of The Queen (or officials of the Royal Household acting on her
behalf). The Civil List meets official expenditure relating to The Queen's
duties as Head of State and Head of the Commonwealth. Grants-in-Aid from
Parliament provide upkeep of the Royal Palaces and for Royal travel. The Privy
Purse is traditional income for the Sovereign's public and private use. Her
Majesty's personal income meets entirely private expenditure.
The Queen pays tax on her personal income and capital
gains. The Civil List and the Grants-in-Aid are not taxed because they cover
official expenditure. The Privy Purse is fully taxable, subject to a deduction
for official expenditure.
These pages also contain information about the
financial arrangements of other members of the Royal Family, together with
information on the Royal Philatelic Collection.
HEAD OF STATE EXPENDITURE 2000-01
Head of State expenditure is
the official expenditure relating to The Queen's duties as Head of State and
Head of the Commonwealth. Head of State expenditure is met from public funds in
exchange for the surrender by The Queen of the revenue from the Crown Estate.
Head of State expenditure for 2001-02, at £35.3
million, is 1.0% higher than in the previous year (a decrease of 1.3% in real
terms). The £350,000 increase is mainly attributable to fire precautions
work at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, offset by the fact that costs transferred
from other funding sources to the Civil List with effect from 1st April 2001
are only included in 2001 Civil List expenditure for nine months. They will be
included for a full year in 2002 and subsequently. Costs have been transferred
to the Civil List from other funding sources in order to utilise the Civil List
reserve brought forward at 1st January 2001. Head of State expenditure has
reduced from £84.6 million (expressed in current pounds) in 1991-92, a
reduction of 58%.
SOURCES OF FUNDING
The four sources of funding of The Queen, or
officials of the Royal Household acting on Her Majesty's behalf, are: the Civil
List, the Grants-in-Aid for upkeep of Royal Palaces and for Royal travel, the
Privy Purse and The Queen's personal wealth and income.
FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS OF THE PRINCE OF WALES
The Prince of Wales does not receive any money from
the State. Instead, he receives the annual net surplus of the Duchy of Cornwall
and uses it to meet the costs of all aspects of his public and private
commitments, and those of Prince William and Prince Harry.
The Duchy's name is derived from the Earldom of
Cornwall, which Edward III elevated to a duchy in 1337. The Duchy's founding
charter included the gift of estates spread throughout England. It also stated
that the Duchy should be in the stewardship of the Heir Apparent, to provide
the Heir with an income independent of the Sovereign or the State.
After 660 years, the Duchy's land holdings have become
more diversified, but the Duchy is still predominantly an agricultural estate.
Today, it consists of around 57,000 hectares, mostly in the South of England.
It is run on a commercial basis, as prescribed by the parliamentary legislation
which governs its activities.
Prince Charles became the 24th Duke of Cornwall on The
Queen's accession in 1952. He is in effect a trustee, and is not entitled to
the proceeds of disposals of assets. The Prince must pass on the estate intact,
so that it continues to provide an income from its assets for future Dukes of
Cornwall.
The Duchy's net surplus for the year to 31 March 2002
was £7,827,000. As a Crown body, the Duchy is tax exempt, but The Prince
of Wales voluntarily pays income tax (currently at 40%) on his taxable income
from it.
FINANCES OF THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE ROYAL FAMILY
Under the Civil List Acts, The Duke of Edinburgh
receives an annual parliamentary allowance to enable him to carry out public
duties. Since 1993, The Queen has repaid to the Treasury the annual
parliamentary allowances received by other members of the Royal family.
The annual amounts payable to members of the Royal
family (which are set every ten years) were reset at their 1990 levels for the
next ten years, until December 2010. Apart from an increase of £45,000 on
the occasion of The Earl of Wessex's marriage, these amounts remain as follows:
Parliamentary annuity (not repaid by The Queen)
HRH The Duke of Edinburgh
|
£359,000
|
Parliamentary annuities (repaid by The Queen)
HRH The Duke of York
|
£249,000
|
HRH The Earl of Wessex
|
£141,000
|
HRH The Princess Royal
|
£228,000
|
HRH Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester
|
£87,000
|
TRH The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester
TRH The Duke and Duchess of Kent HRH Princess Alexandra, Hon. Lady Ogilvy
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*£636,000
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* Of the £636,000, £175,000 is provided by
The Queen to The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, £236,000 to The Duke and
Duchess of Kent and £225,000 to Princess Alexandra.
As with the Civil List itself, most of these sums are
spent on staff who support public engagements and correspondence.
TAXATION
The Queen has always been subject to Value Added Tax
and other indirect taxes and she has paid local rates (Council Tax) on a
voluntary basis. In 1992, however, The Queen offered to pay income tax and
capital gains tax on a voluntary basis. As from 1993, her personal income has
been taxable as for any taxpayer and the Privy Purse is fully taxable, subject
to a deduction for official expenditure. The Civil List and the Grants-in-Aid
are not remuneration for The Queen and are thus disregarded for tax.
Although The Queen's estate will be subject to
Inheritance Tax, bequests from Sovereign to Sovereign are exempt. This is
because constitutional impartiality requires an appropriate degree of financial
independence for the Sovereign and because the Sovereign is unable to generate
significant new wealth through earnings or business activities. Also, the
Sovereign cannot retire and so cannot mitigate Inheritance Tax by passing on
assets at an early stage to his or her successor.
As a Crown body, the Duchy of Cornwall is tax
exempt, but since 1969 The Prince of Wales has made voluntary contributions to
the Exchequer. As from 1993, The Prince's income from the Duchy has been fully
subject to tax on a voluntary basis. He has always paid tax, including income
tax, in all other respects.
ROYAL ASSETS
The Queen does not 'own' the Royal Palaces, art
treasures from the Royal Collection, jewellery heirlooms and the Crown Jewels,
all of which are held by Her Majesty as Sovereign and not as an individual.
They must be passed on to The Queen's successor in due course. The Queen and
some members of the Royal Family past and present have made private collections
- such as the stamp collection begun by George V. This is separate to the Royal
Collection, although exhibitions and loans of stamps are sometimes made.
SYMBOLS
Many of the most familiar objects and events in
national life incorporate Royal symbols or represent the Monarchy in some way.
Flags, coats of arms, the crowns and treasures used at coronations and some
ceremonies, stamps, coins and the singing of the national anthem have strong
associations with the Monarchy and play a significant part in our daily
existence. Other objects - such as the Great Seal of the Realm - may be less
familiar to the general public but still have a powerful symbolic role.
NATIONAL ANTHEM
'God Save The King' was a patriotic song first
publicly performed in London in 1745, which came to be referred to as the
National Anthem from the beginning of the nineteenth century. The words and
tune are anonymous, and may date back to the seventeenth century.
In September 1745 the 'Young Pretender' to the British
Throne, Prince Charles Edward Stuart, defeated the army of King George II at
Prestonpans, near Edinburgh. In a fit of patriotic fervour after news of
Prestonpans had reached London, the leader of the band at the Theatre Royal,
Drury Lane, arranged 'God Save The King' for performance after a play. It was a
tremendous success and was repeated nightly thereafter. This practice soon
spread to other theatres, and the custom of greeting the Monarch with the song
as he or she entered a place of public entertainment was thus established.
There
is no authorised version of the National Anthem as the words are a matter of
tradition. Additional verses have been added down the years, but these are
rarely used. The words used are those sung in 1745, substituting 'Queen' for
'King' where appropriate. On official occasions, only the first verse is
usually sung, as follows:
God save our gracious Queen!
Long live our noble Queen!
God save the Queen!
Send her victorious,
Happy and glorious,
Long to reign over us,
God save the Queen.
An additional verse is occasionally sung:
Thy choicest gifts in store
On her be pleased to pour,
Long may she reign.
May she defend our laws,
And ever give us cause,
To sing with heart and voice,
God save the Queen.
The British tune has been used in other countries - as
European visitors to Britain in the eighteenth century noticed the advantage of
a country possessing such a recognised musical symbol - including Germany,
Russia, Switzerland and America (where use of the tune continued after
independence). Some 140 composers, including Beethoven, Haydn and Brahms, have
used the tune in their compositions.
ROYAL WARRANTS
Royal Warrants are granted to people or companies
who have regularly supplied goods or services for a minimum of five consecutive
years to The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother or
The Prince of Wales. They are advised by the Lord Chamberlain who is head of
the Royal Household and chairman of the Royal Household Tradesmen's Warrants
Committee. Each of these four members of the Royal family can grant only one
warrant to any individual business. However, a business may hold warrants from
more than one member of the Royal family and a handful of companies holds all
four.
The warrants are a mark of recognition that tradesmen
are regular suppliers of goods and services to the Royal households. Strict
regulations govern the warrant, which allows the grantee or his company to use
the legend 'By Appointment' and display the Royal Arms on his products, such as
stationery, advertisements and other printed material, in his or her premises
and on delivery vehicles.
A Royal Warrant is initially granted for five years,
after which time it comes up for review by the Royal Household Tradesmen's
Warrants Committee. Warrants may not be renewed if the quality or supply for
the product or service is insufficient, as far as the relevant Royal Household
is concerned. A Warrant may, however, be cancelled at any time and is
automatically reviewed if the grantee dies or leaves the business, or if the
firm goes bankrupt or is sold. There are rules to ensure that high standards
are maintained.
Since the Middle Ages, tradesmen who have acted as
suppliers of goods and services to the Sovereign have received formal
recognition. In the beginning, this patronage took the form of royal charters
given collectively to various guilds in trades and crafts which later became
known as livery companies. Over the centuries, the relationship between the
Crown and individual tradesmen was formalised by the issue of royal warrants.
In the reign of Henry VIII, Thomas Hewytt was
appointed to 'Serve the Court with Swannes and Cranes and all kinds of
Wildfoule'. A hard-working Anne Harris was appointed as the 'King's
Laundresse'. Elizabeth I's household book listed, among other things, the
Yeomen Purveyors of 'Veales, Beeves & Muttons; Sea & Freshwater Fish'. In
1684 goods and services to the Palace included a Haberdasher of Hats, a
Watchmaker in Reversion, an Operator for the Teeth and a Goffe-Club Maker.
According to the Royal Kalendar of 1789, a Pin Maker, a Mole Taker, a Card
Maker and a Rat Catcher are among other tradesmen appointed to the court. A
notable omission was the Bug Taker - at that time one of the busiest
functionaries at court but perhaps not one to be recorded in a Royal Kalendar.
Records also show that in 1776 Mr Savage Bear was 'Purveyor of Greens Fruits
and Garden Things', and that in 1820 Mr William Giblet was supplying meat to
the table of George IV.
Warrant holders today represent a large cross-section
of British trade and industry (there is a small number of foreign names),
ranging from dry cleaners to fishmongers, and from agricultural machinery to
computer software. A number of firms have a record of Royal Warrants reaching
back over more than 100 years. Warrant-holding firms do not provide their goods
or services free to the Royal households, and all transactions are conducted on
a strictly commercial basis. There are currently approximately 800 Royal
Warrant holders, holding over 1,100 Royal Warrants between them (some have more
than one Royal Warrant).
On 25 May 1840, a gathering of 'Her Majesty's
Tradesmen' held a celebration in honour of Queen Victoria's birthday. They
later decided to make this an annual event and formed themselves for the
purpose into an association which eventually became known as the Royal Warrant
Holders Association.
The Association acts both in a supervisory role to
ensure that the standards of quality and reliability in their goods and
services are upheld, and as a channel of communication for its members in their
dealings with the various departments of the Royal Household. The Association
ensures that the Royal Warrant is not used by those not entitled and is
correctly applied by those who are.
BANK NOTES AND COINAGE
There are close ties - past and present - between
the Monarchy and the monetary system. They can be seen, for example, in the
title of the 'Royal Mint' and the representation of the monarch on all
circulating British coinage.
The first coins were struck in the British Isles 2000
years ago using designs copied from Greek coins. Following the Roman invasion
of Britain in 43 AD, the Roman coinage system was introduced. After the decline
of Roman power in Britain from the fifth century AD, the silver penny
eventually emerged as the dominant coin circulating in England but no
standardized system was yet in place.
In the eighth century, as strong kings emerged with
power over more than one region, they began to centralize the currency. Offa
introduced a new coinage in the form of the silver penny, which for centuries
was to be the basis of the English currency. Alfred introduced further changes
by authorising mints in the burhs he had founded. By 800 AD coins regularly
bore the names of the kings for whom they were struck. A natural development
was the representation of their own images on their coins. Coinage played a
part in spreading the fame of kings - the more often coins passed through men's
hands, and the further afield they were taken by plunder or trade, the more
famous their royal sponsors became. Athelstan (d. 939) is the first English
king to be shown on his coins wearing a crown or circlet. For many people, the
king's image on coins was the only likeness of the monarch which they were likely
to see in their lifetimes.
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