To think if Kate & Wills want to live at Middleton Manor...

[PeriodMath]

They should foot the £6000 a day bill for security and the £900 an hour helicopter circling overhead?

Shouldn't they be staying in a royal palace - isn't that the point of them? Big safe estates away from prying eyes?

[Thatballwasin]

Fuck me, if Prince Charles did that re: security guy then no wonder we're not being allowed to see his letters to the PM. If that's true then that is horrifying, a complete abuse of his position, never mind Mr Security

[Twirlyhot]

What, saying he'd withdraw the royal warrant? For employing a former royal protection officer who wrote a book detailing loads of personal stuff about the person he protected? After that person was dead?

It's the only thing I know about him that I respect.

[McNewPants2013]

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protection_Command

Explains it all

[saintlyjimjams]

I'd hate to be a royal. Unless the difference in cost is a trillion pounds I'm meh really. Let her stay with her mum & have her little boy surrounded by normal (well relatively) family life.

[Twirlyhot]

Have no idea how valid the story is. The fact that it was in the Evening Standard made me check it . The rest came from googling in about 3 minutes.

I would imagine it is easier to keep all the royals in two places (for security) to give maximum protection for minimum costs and spread the risk. I would also assume that the house of her parents has had to be upgraded anyway, because since before the marriage, William has stayed there, she has stayed there (as a fiancée and then wife of the next in line), she's stayed there pregnant etc. Her family alone probably needed increased home security because their daughter's marriage would be enough of a reason for them to be targeted.

[handcream]

They will never be able to walk in a park without people (and I mean Mumnset people as well!) taking photos of them, trying to engage them in conversation, asking for autographs and god knows what else.

Dont lets start on the nutters that are around who wish them harm.

Its us who have forced the security onto them.

I am sure they would rather just pop out to the shops then have it organised well in advance.

FGS - Diane was killed being pursued by the media.

[Quangle]

Fairphyllis I have seen Americans using protection of the Obama family as a political tool - mainly in the gun argument. The gun nutters argue that since the Obama children are protected by gun-wielding security guys, they should be allowed to carry guns too. I think it's silly, obviously (as is everything the gun lobby says) but it's the same sort of "one law for the rich, one law for the poor" type of reasoning taken to extremes.

But I agree with the general point that we have a monarchy and there are security implications to that and that the poor girl should be allowed to go where she wants to recuperate with new baby. I felt sorry for her outside the hospital, smiling sweetly in a posh frock while her insides were falling out.

Am like twinklestar2 on this - not a Royalist but like a new baby and some clothes as much as the next shallow bint.

[Thatballwasin]

Ok, again didn't realise having the royal warrant was relevant to the new jobs - was just going by your comment about using influence to get him fired which in the way it was presented in your statement would have been terrible. Taking away something to which he was no longer deemed to be entitled which was necessary for new posts is completely different. Like I said, not a royal watcher. I generally like old Charlie though, don't want to be his subject but I have like the fact he seems to be his own man (belatedly).

[ajandjjmum]

The Royals are the cheapest form of marketing and promotion that UK plc will ever get - even taking into account huge security bills.

[Twirlyhot]

The warrant is the crest/stamp thing that is on some products and basically means Royals Shop Here. He threatened to remove them from the companies that hired the man (effectively, to stop shopping there and therefore stop them using the fact as advertising.)

[Twirlyhot]

I don't like him. I think he's had far too much influence over planning issues.

[doingthesplitz]

Baby George's arrival has probably boosted the economy no end - all those tourists delighted to be here during a historical moment snapping up momentos great coverage of London in beautiful sunny weather, etc. Not to mention the shops, magazines and so on that make a fortune during occasions like this. Kate has paid the price for this by having to share her new baby with the public, having to pose outside the hospital for photographs that will see newspapers snapped off the shelves, having her every move and decision disected and discussed.

At least she has a close and stable family and her son has normal and loving grandparents. It's more than Diana ever had.

[McNewPants2013]

The Royalty Protection Branch (SO14 cost

www.met.police.uk/foi/pdfs/disclosure_2011/april/2011010001488.pdf

[Hassled]

I had this debate with DS2 earlier today - and while you can raise your eyebrows as much as you like at the cost of protection etc, the fact remains the royal family are value for money.

2010 figures - cost to taxpayer was £35.1M.
Government income from Crown Estate revenues : £226.5M

That Crown Estate figure obviously doesn't include the boost to tourism revenue that having a royal family gives us.

[Twirlyhot]

From a personal viewpoint, having to stay inside and avoid opening curtains unless you want pictures all over the news would be my idea of hell. Add 'and you have to stay with your ILs' to that and I'd be going batshit crazy.

[sue52]

I'm hoping Margaret Hodge and the public accounts committee manage to extract the Duchy of Cornwall from it's current position of legal tax avoidance so Prince Charles can help fund the extra security at Middleton Manor, just like every other tax payer.

[Thatballwasin]

Actually, the removal from royal warrants in the context you mention is just crap. I do think that's terrible. I would prefer to UK not to have a monarchy but it does and that's that but I was ambivalent about Charles being king, quite liked the guy. The actions you've detailed are in my view completely inappropriate especially for our next head of state

[squoosh]

'having to stay inside and avoid opening curtains unless you want pictures all over the news would be my idea of hell. '

This might be the case if Mr and Mrs Middleton lived in a three bed semi. Not quite the reality though.

[MissMarplesBloomers]

William has 2 weeks paternity leave as any other father, he then has to bugger off back to Wales to resume duties.

Why shouldn't he leave his LO's safe with the extended family they both trust & want to spend time with?

I begrudge them the security costs a whole lot less than many of our bloody politicians and lesser royals.

I think they do a damn good job at promoting brand GB and are worth every penny.

[Twirlyhot]

You object to a threat to stop shopping somewhere???

The only reason the man had 'facts' to publish was because he was a close protection person. It would be like a nanny using her access to publish a tell all then getting a job in child care based on her credentials as having been nanny to the people she sold the privacy off!

[Twirlyhot]

They published pictures of her breasts when she was a mile(?) from the nearest road.

[squoosh]

She won't be going topless again any time soon. Seriously, there are worse places to spend a few weeks with your newborn than Middelton Manor.

I'd cope.

[PeriodMath]

My point wasn't that we shouldn't foot the security bills generally, on royal tours and at the palaces and so on - just that staying at a private house for weeks on end when there are perfectly good palaces already secured for them seems a bit much.

Yes, of course no-one could blame Kate wanting to be at home with her folks but how many of us are afforded that luxury after we give birth? I was a couple of hundred miles away after my first and will be a lot further after my second. It's the life I agreed to and it has its perks (as does Kate's) but a bit of fending for yourself goes with it.

[HollyBerryBush]

I dont care how much they cost, they are worth a lot more than some that my taxes go towards keeping.

Anyway, its nannies money, she can spend it how she likes

[ajandjjmum]

Sad you couldn't be where you wanted to be PeriodMath when you'd given birth. Kate can - with the compromise that her DH will be elsewhere. You make the choice and take the compromise that goes with it.

The need for security is not her (nor her parents) fault.