Prince Andrew no surprise

[Pixxie7]

No surprise that the met have stopped. Their investigation into PA.

Yes in Scotland too. There are exceptions of course, but middle-class people upwards.
And the Royal golf clubs that Andrew was patron of will be all well off people. He basically got us to pay his travel expenses for his hobby and claimed he was working.
You know I used to be indifferent to the RF and would not have voted to abolish them. Andrew changed all that. And the more you look, the more you realise how rotten to the core they all are.

@prh47bridge so he gets paid out of the sovereign grant for travel costs then. Dont pretend he is paying for this himself. And we pay for security.

[quote julieca]@prh47bridge so he gets paid out of the sovereign grant for travel costs then. Dont pretend he is paying for this himself. And we pay for security.[/quote]
You didn’t read this, did you? Or more like just ignored it

The amount of the Grant is a fixed percentage of the income the government receives from the Crown Estate. It makes absolutely no difference to the cost to the taxpayer whether Andrew flies to an official engagement, walks there or stays at home

PA has spoilt it for anyone else taking up patronages of golf clubs or similar.
20 years ago he was wracking up £500,000 per year in private jets, helicopters to golf tournaments all over UK and the world. Even in 2014 he flew to 15 countries, 67,000 miles for golf. And he wasn't trade envoy any more then either.

Going back to David Rowland, the dodgy financier of Banque Havilland .... apparently he paid off £40,000 of SF's debts.

What we know is appalling... what we don't know will be even worse.

So now we are saying that private jets, helicopter trips, travel costs cost us nothing.
Bullshit!

Somewhere along the line it costs. We would have more income from the Duchies if the costs were less.

And PA would hardly be patron of a municipal course, that is way way way beneath him.
Only the very best golf clubs in the world.

@Blossomtoes it doesnt matter if it is a fixed amount and of course I read that. I still don't want Andrew to get paid from it to fly around the world for his hobby. Or don't you care if money is basically fraudently used as long as it is the same pot?
The money should be used for travel that will benefit charities and Britain. Not to personally benefit the RF.

Yes in Scotland too. There are exceptions of course, but middle-class people upwards. Laughable. Everybody plays golf here. Are you saying you know my community better than I do?

@derxa

Yes in Scotland too. There are exceptions of course, but middle-class people upwards. Laughable. Everybody plays golf here. Are you saying you know my community better than I do?

Of course she is. She knows everything about everything.

Why are we discussing who plays golf? It's irrelevant who does. It's the fact PA was patron of the most prestigous golf clubs in both the UK and the world.
And he abused his position wracking up huge travel costs to just play golf.
And now that door is closed and I, for one, could not be more delighted.

p.s. I know a lot of people who don't play golf!

Why are we discussing who plays golf? Because someone made a completely untrue assertion and I couldn't let it lie

I know a lot of people who don't play golf!

So do I. I know a lot who do as well. Who gives a shit? 🤷‍♀️

prh47bridge But if Andrew and the rest of them did stay at home and not fly anywhere, Q could then ask for the sov grant to be reduced thus saving money for the taxpayer, make a powerful environmental statement to back up her "irritation at people who talk and don't do" in reference to climate change (yes she reportedly said that yesterday, see Guardian), nobody would be embarrassed by PA and lots of carbon emissions would be saved.

Instead the sov grant will continue to rise and rise and so will their expenses.

But Roussette now that door is closed, he'll just vent his frustration on the hapless grouse.

@ChurchofLatterDayPaints

prh47bridge But if Andrew and the rest of them did stay at home and not fly anywhere, Q could then ask for the sov grant to be reduced thus saving money for the taxpayer, make a powerful environmental statement to back up her "irritation at people who talk and don't do" in reference to climate change (yes she reportedly said that yesterday, see Guardian), nobody would be embarrassed by PA and lots of carbon emissions would be saved.

Instead the sov grant will continue to rise and rise and so will their expenses.

I have to correct myself. Andrew receives absolutely nothing from the Sovereign Grant, so it would make no difference if he stayed at home. Only the Queen's travel costs come out of the Sovereign Grant, forming a small part of the total. If she stopped paying anything for travel (unlikely for a head of state) and the sovereign grant was reduced accordingly, the amount saved works out at about 11p per taxpayer per year.

Q could then ask for the sov grant to be reduced thus saving money for the taxpayer

That is my point exactly. It's deluded to think their travel doesn't cost us anything!
If it didn't, it wouldn't be detailed in the yearly royal report.

Yes... those poor grouse.
PA has abused his position and led a privileged enviable life for far too long... I wonder how PC will come back from all this as I don't doubt it will drag on and on.

The only reason SF is back in the fold is to defend Andrew, that will all change when the Queen dies.

I get hacked off with this 11p per year nonsense. That is what they want you to believe.... yeah right...

Where do you think the travel costs come from? It's from Duchies, and more would be paid to us the taxpayer, if the costs were less. I just don't understand why some people don't get this???

The actual costs are far far more.... because so much isn't included.

It's been linked before but I'm linking it again

[quote Roussette]I get hacked off with this 11p per year nonsense. That is what they want you to believe.... yeah right...

Where do you think the travel costs come from? It's from Duchies, and more would be paid to us the taxpayer, if the costs were less. I just don't understand why some people don't get this???

The actual costs are far far more.... because so much isn't included.

It's been linked before but I'm linking it again

[/quote] The actual cost - based on the Repubic.org website’s information - is about £7 per taxpayer pa, including security. I’m happy with my 13p a week - I struggle to see what else I could buy for it.

That's fine... you're happy with it but times your 13p per week by 31 million... that's pretty astounding isn't it? For one family?

Gosh. I need to get my head round that...

I totally agree Roussette. Why should a family of unelected billionaires get even 1p per year off the taxpayer. Lets face it if they serve the folk of this country they serve themselves a lot more. Its one big con. That oaf Andrew swanning round the world as Trade Ambassador collecting every freebie going. It was a scandal long before all this other stuff came to light,

If Andrew and the rest of them did stay at home and not fly anywhere, Q could then ask for the sov grant to be reduced

Very funny; as if any of the RF would willingly give up money

And while it's true that the Sovereign Grant is a fixed %, that really doesn't tell the whole story - not when there's been a (supposedly temporary) massive uplift to pay for repairs, or when HM wants yet more because Covid's affected investments, and certainly not when they tried to raid a fund for the vulnerable for palace heating

So much for the "67p a week" ...

It was a scandal long before all this other stuff came to light

Totally this. And I think more and more people are waking up to this. I think Andrew has been the straw the broke the camels back. And now everything is being questioned.
And probably H&M too. Whatever anyone's views are on them, it means that questions are being asked of the RF.

Puzzled
Yes, and the fact that the SovG can never go down. Only up. The Sovereign Grant Act 2011 ensures this. Win win for the RF

So what about everybody else whose income has been affected by Covid. Do they not matter.

[quote Roussette]I get hacked off with this 11p per year nonsense. That is what they want you to believe.... yeah right...

Where do you think the travel costs come from? It's from Duchies, and more would be paid to us the taxpayer, if the costs were less. I just don't understand why some people don't get this???

The actual costs are far far more.... because so much isn't included.

It's been linked before but I'm linking it again

[/quote] The Youtube video is disingenuous in places and downright wrong in others. The Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall do NOT belong to us. They are the sovereign's private estates. The figures they give for the profits from the Duchies are inflated. There is also some double counting going on - for example, pension costs for the royal household come out of the Sovereign Grant, whereas the makers of this video want you to believe that is an additional cost.

Because the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall are their private estates, we don't get anything from them apart from tax revenue. So no, it really doesn't make any difference to the taxpayer whether Andrew spends £10M a year on travel or 10p. We wouldn't get any more from the Duchies than we do already.

So what about everybody else whose income has been affected by Covid. Do they not matter

In fairness there was furlough and various business support schemes, but good luck expecting taxpayers to cough up just because your investments didn't come up to scratch

Come to think of it, for all I know the RF may hav dipped into the furlough pot too - and I mean for themselves, not just the staff