Diamond Jubilee : how relevant and important are the Royal Family to Britain?

I think the Royal Family should be fully funded by themselves with any money they generate.

One good thing over the last few days has been seeing a lot of cheerful happy people across London and the rest of the UK

...except here it seems  ;-)

Frankly the contribution of the weekend's events to the rest of the world's perception of this country as a "power" as well as an attractive tourist destination has a value to all of us that is completely and utterly beyond measure. The monarchy is very well worth its civil list money - which is recovered many many times over by the rest of the economy (especially this year).

...except here it seems  ;-)

Disagree. I think there should be a royal event every year, last years Will and Kates wedding was good fun to watch as well as the Jubilee celebreations this year.

I do think the Queen can self fund it though....deep pockets and all that.

In reply to Isaac, post #2

I do think the Queen can self fund it though....deep pockets and all that.

In a sense, she already does: http://www.royal.gov.uk/TheRoyalHousehold/Royalfinances/Sourcesoffunding/TheCivilList.aspx

In 1760, George III reached an agreement with the Government over the Crown Estate. The Crown Lands would be managed on behalf of the Government and the surplus revenue would go to the Treasury. In return, the King would receive a fixed annual payment, which we call today the Civil List.

See also: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/marine/seamanagement/ce/FAQs

The CEC is a UK public body accountable to the Westminster Parliament. Surplus revenues generated from management of the Crown Estate (including the assets in Scotland) are passed to HM Treasury. In 2010/11, for example, CEC returned a surplus of £230.9 million to the Treasury.

Seems like a pretty good deal for the taxpayer to me!

Finally, I did wonder about the cost of the celebrations but was pleased to find this:http://www.channel4.com/news/who-pays-for-the-diamond-jubilee

...It will be a giant undertaking, but it won't cost the public a penny. All of the £10.5m budget has been raised from individual donations and corporate sponsorships, and a "substantial" surplus has been raised. It will be given to charity via the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust.

Monday's Diamond Jubliee concert at Buckingham Palace will be another highlight of the weekend's celebrations. The artists are playing for free, and the costs of staging the production are being met by the BBC. However they have sold the event to over 140 countries - it would be surprising if the revenues from that do not also generate a surplus, which would be given to the Diamond Jubilee Trust...

By far the biggest cost, as mentioned in the article, is lost working time due to the extra bank holiday. But I agree with ee that the international goodwill generated and general improvement in "the nation's mood" will probably outweigh that. It is also worth bearing in mind that the biggest issue with the economic climate is confidence. Anything that significantly boosts confidence (for indiividuals and businesses)  is to be welcomed... and what's wrong with a bit of fun? :0)

Talking of fun, I highly recommend @Queen_UK on Twitter, to lighten the mood.

Cheers!

Mark