WEBVTT - The Firm vs. the Family: How Does the British Monarchy Work?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeart Radio, Hey Brainstuff

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren Bolabom here. The world was shocked when Prince Harry

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<v Speaker 1>and his wife Megan Markle a k a. The Duke

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<v Speaker 1>and Dutchess of Suessex, announced they were leaving Britain's royal

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<v Speaker 1>family in January of A second jolt occurred when the

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<v Speaker 1>two sat down for an interview with Oprah Winfrey in

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<v Speaker 1>March and revealed how disheartened and quote trapped they felt

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<v Speaker 1>by the Royal institution. They also tried to explain a

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<v Speaker 1>bit about how the crown operates. At one point, Marcole said,

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<v Speaker 1>so there's the family and then there's the people that

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<v Speaker 1>are running the institution. Those are two separate things, and

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<v Speaker 1>it's important to be able to compartmentalize that because the Queen,

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<v Speaker 1>for example, has always been wonderful to me. It's a complicated,

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<v Speaker 1>convoluted system. The royal family consists of Queen Elizabeth the

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<v Speaker 1>Second and her husband Prince Philip, also known as the

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<v Speaker 1>Duke of Edinburgh, plus therefore children Princess Charles, Andrew and

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<v Speaker 1>Edward and Princess Anne, and each of their spouses Elizabeth

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<v Speaker 1>and Phillips. Eight grandchildren and nine great grandchildren are also royals.

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<v Speaker 1>But this family is also part of a sprawling business

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<v Speaker 1>institution with thousands of employees who manage the royal affairs

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<v Speaker 1>as with any other company. These employees work in human resources,

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<v Speaker 1>public relations, information technology, housekeeping and so on, in addition

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<v Speaker 1>to occupying visible roles such as personal secretaries, drivers, and security.

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<v Speaker 1>About a century ago, King George the sixth, Elizabeth's father

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<v Speaker 1>dubbed this combination of business and clan as the firm.

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<v Speaker 1>With so many employees and such prominence, the firm requires

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of money to operate. In the bill came

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<v Speaker 1>to eighty two point four million pounds or about a

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<v Speaker 1>hundred and fourteen million dollars US. These funds don't come

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<v Speaker 1>from taxpayers per se, but from a convoluted system with

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<v Speaker 1>real estate at its core. And here's how it works.

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<v Speaker 1>Every year, the UK government gives the Royal household a

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<v Speaker 1>monetary allotment called the Sovereign Grant. The money in the

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<v Speaker 1>grant is a percentage of the surplus revenue from the

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<v Speaker 1>Crown Estate, which is an extensive real estate portfolio belonging

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<v Speaker 1>to the Crown. The portfolios profits mainly come through annual

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<v Speaker 1>appreciation and farming in the monarchy received of the Crown

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<v Speaker 1>estates surplus net income jump from the previous fifteent plus

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<v Speaker 1>an additional ten percent allotment that will last a decade

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<v Speaker 1>to refurbish Buckingham Palace. The government retained the remainder of

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<v Speaker 1>the surplus for the article that this episode is based on,

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<v Speaker 1>How Stuff Works spoke via email with Laura Clancy, a

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<v Speaker 1>media lecturer at the UK's Lancaster University and the author

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<v Speaker 1>of the upcoming book Running the Family Firm, How the

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<v Speaker 1>Monarchy Manages Its Image and Our Money. Clancy explained that

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<v Speaker 1>Queen Elizabeth the Second doesn't personally own the Crown Estate. Instead,

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<v Speaker 1>it's a publicly owned property portfolio held in trust by

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<v Speaker 1>the Crown, meaning that should the entire monarchy be abolished,

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<v Speaker 1>all those profits would go to the public. Plancy also

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<v Speaker 1>notes that the sovereign grant is often reported to be

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<v Speaker 1>the official cost of the monarchy, but that's not quite accurate.

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<v Speaker 1>The Royal family security is paid for by the Metropolitan Police,

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<v Speaker 1>plus local councils pick up the tab for royal visits,

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<v Speaker 1>meaning the actual cost is greater. Working royals like the Queen,

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<v Speaker 1>Prince Charles Prince William and his wife Kate, the Duchess

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<v Speaker 1>of Cambridge, received funds from the Sovereign Grant to support

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<v Speaker 1>their work, travel, staff, clothing and residents renovations. They do

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<v Speaker 1>not receive set salaries, however, and nor are they typically

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<v Speaker 1>allowed to do paid work. But the Queen receives a

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<v Speaker 1>substantial income from the Private Duchy of Lancaster, a set

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<v Speaker 1>of commercial, agricultural and residential properties that was attached to

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<v Speaker 1>the monarchy in the year twelve sixty. As of it

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<v Speaker 1>generated more than million pounds for her. That's nearly thirty

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<v Speaker 1>five million dollars US. Similarly, as heir to the throne,

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<v Speaker 1>Prince Charles receives income from the Private Duchy of Cornwall,

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<v Speaker 1>also established centuries ago. The two will pass on some

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<v Speaker 1>of this income to their airs, though it isn't known

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<v Speaker 1>how much. And as if all of this wasn't enough,

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<v Speaker 1>the firm's complexity involves a lot more than money. Another

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<v Speaker 1>aspect that's difficult for outsiders to grasp is its myriad rules, regulations,

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<v Speaker 1>and traditions. Some are non controversial, like bowing or curtseying

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<v Speaker 1>to the Queen, but many others may seem silly or

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<v Speaker 1>off putting. Women are supposed to always wear pantyhose, for example,

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<v Speaker 1>and never cross their legs while sitting. Makeup is supposed

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<v Speaker 1>to be minimal, and couples are not supposed to engage

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<v Speaker 1>in any public displays of affection, not even handholding. Oh

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<v Speaker 1>and you're not supposed to close your own car door.

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<v Speaker 1>But who's making these rules, insisting that they be followed,

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<v Speaker 1>or allowing them at times to be broken. Clancy says

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<v Speaker 1>it's unclear. She said the operations of the monarchy are

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<v Speaker 1>complex and there are many different individuals involved in running

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<v Speaker 1>the institution, from public relations to HR to financial advisors. Furthermore,

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<v Speaker 1>tradition is important as it's a form of historical legitimacy

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<v Speaker 1>for the monarchy, and this is where things loop back

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<v Speaker 1>to Prince Harry and Markel because one other major component

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<v Speaker 1>of the firm is the Royal Rota or the Pool System,

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<v Speaker 1>comprising a group of reporters and photographers from seven UK publications.

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<v Speaker 1>For the past forty years, the royal family has granted

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<v Speaker 1>the Rota special access to their royal engagements in exchange

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<v Speaker 1>for coverage, as coverage helps maintain the monarch key's relevance.

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<v Speaker 1>These press members are expected to share material with each other. Today,

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<v Speaker 1>four of the rod of publications are tabloids, including The

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<v Speaker 1>Daily Mail and Son, and these ROTA journalists often write

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<v Speaker 1>about marcle harshly and sometimes in racist ways. One of

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<v Speaker 1>the biggest reasons that the couple left the Royal family,

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<v Speaker 1>according to the Winfrey interview and other press accounts, appears

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<v Speaker 1>to be their distress and discussed with the ROTA and

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<v Speaker 1>their wish to escape its orbit. UK's National Union of

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<v Speaker 1>Journalists expressed concern at the time of the decision in

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<v Speaker 1>to leave the ROTA, stating that as the Royal Family

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<v Speaker 1>is partially funded by the public quote, we cannot have

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<v Speaker 1>a situation where journalists writing about the Duke and Duchess

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<v Speaker 1>of Sussex can only do so if they have the

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<v Speaker 1>Royal Seal of approval. And although their separation from the

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<v Speaker 1>firm and the ROTA means no more income from the

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<v Speaker 1>Sovereign Grant or the Duchy of Cornwall, the two should

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<v Speaker 1>be just fine. In step back from their royal duties.

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<v Speaker 1>Harry and Megan, as they would now like to be called,

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<v Speaker 1>are allowed to earn a living on their own. The

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<v Speaker 1>couple quickly inked a three year podcasting deal with Spotify

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<v Speaker 1>it's allegedly worth twenty five million dollars, and a five

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<v Speaker 1>year Netflix deal allegedly worth over a hundred million. These

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<v Speaker 1>deals will allow them to produce documentaries, films, podcasts, kids programming,

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<v Speaker 1>and other content down the Road. Today's episode is based

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<v Speaker 1>on the article the Firm Versus the Family? How does

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<v Speaker 1>the British Monarchy Really Work? On how stuff works dot Com?

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<v Speaker 1>Written by Melanie Radzkie McManus. Brain Stuff is a production

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<v Speaker 1>of I Heart Radio in partnership with how stuff Works

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<v Speaker 1>dot Com and is produced by Tyler Clang. Four more

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<v Speaker 1>podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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<v Speaker 1>or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.