Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeart Radio, Hey Brainstuff
Speaker 1: Lauren Bolabom here. The world was shocked when Prince Harry
Speaker 1: and his wife Megan Markle a k a. The Duke
Speaker 1: and Dutchess of Suessex, announced they were leaving Britain's royal
Speaker 1: family in January of A second jolt occurred when the
Speaker 1: two sat down for an interview with Oprah Winfrey in
Speaker 1: March and revealed how disheartened and quote trapped they felt
Speaker 1: by the Royal institution. They also tried to explain a
Speaker 1: bit about how the crown operates. At one point, Marcole said,
Speaker 1: so there's the family and then there's the people that
Speaker 1: are running the institution. Those are two separate things, and
Speaker 1: it's important to be able to compartmentalize that because the Queen,
Speaker 1: for example, has always been wonderful to me. It's a complicated,
Speaker 1: convoluted system. The royal family consists of Queen Elizabeth the
Speaker 1: Second and her husband Prince Philip, also known as the
Speaker 1: Duke of Edinburgh, plus therefore children Princess Charles, Andrew and
Speaker 1: Edward and Princess Anne, and each of their spouses Elizabeth
Speaker 1: and Phillips. Eight grandchildren and nine great grandchildren are also royals.
Speaker 1: But this family is also part of a sprawling business
Speaker 1: institution with thousands of employees who manage the royal affairs
Speaker 1: as with any other company. These employees work in human resources,
Speaker 1: public relations, information technology, housekeeping and so on, in addition
Speaker 1: to occupying visible roles such as personal secretaries, drivers, and security.
Speaker 1: About a century ago, King George the sixth, Elizabeth's father
Speaker 1: dubbed this combination of business and clan as the firm.
Speaker 1: With so many employees and such prominence, the firm requires
Speaker 1: a lot of money to operate. In the bill came
Speaker 1: to eighty two point four million pounds or about a
Speaker 1: hundred and fourteen million dollars US. These funds don't come
Speaker 1: from taxpayers per se, but from a convoluted system with
Speaker 1: real estate at its core. And here's how it works.
Speaker 1: Every year, the UK government gives the Royal household a
Speaker 1: monetary allotment called the Sovereign Grant. The money in the
Speaker 1: grant is a percentage of the surplus revenue from the
Speaker 1: Crown Estate, which is an extensive real estate portfolio belonging
Speaker 1: to the Crown. The portfolios profits mainly come through annual
Speaker 1: appreciation and farming in the monarchy received of the Crown
Speaker 1: estates surplus net income jump from the previous fifteent plus
Speaker 1: an additional ten percent allotment that will last a decade
Speaker 1: to refurbish Buckingham Palace. The government retained the remainder of
Speaker 1: the surplus for the article that this episode is based on,
Speaker 1: How Stuff Works spoke via email with Laura Clancy, a
Speaker 1: media lecturer at the UK's Lancaster University and the author
Speaker 1: of the upcoming book Running the Family Firm, How the
Speaker 1: Monarchy Manages Its Image and Our Money. Clancy explained that
Speaker 1: Queen Elizabeth the Second doesn't personally own the Crown Estate. Instead,
Speaker 1: it's a publicly owned property portfolio held in trust by
Speaker 1: the Crown, meaning that should the entire monarchy be abolished,
Speaker 1: all those profits would go to the public. Plancy also
Speaker 1: notes that the sovereign grant is often reported to be
Speaker 1: the official cost of the monarchy, but that's not quite accurate.
Speaker 1: The Royal family security is paid for by the Metropolitan Police,
Speaker 1: plus local councils pick up the tab for royal visits,
Speaker 1: meaning the actual cost is greater. Working royals like the Queen,
Speaker 1: Prince Charles Prince William and his wife Kate, the Duchess
Speaker 1: of Cambridge, received funds from the Sovereign Grant to support
Speaker 1: their work, travel, staff, clothing and residents renovations. They do
Speaker 1: not receive set salaries, however, and nor are they typically
Speaker 1: allowed to do paid work. But the Queen receives a
Speaker 1: substantial income from the Private Duchy of Lancaster, a set
Speaker 1: of commercial, agricultural and residential properties that was attached to
Speaker 1: the monarchy in the year twelve sixty. As of it
Speaker 1: generated more than million pounds for her. That's nearly thirty
Speaker 1: five million dollars US. Similarly, as heir to the throne,
Speaker 1: Prince Charles receives income from the Private Duchy of Cornwall,
Speaker 1: also established centuries ago. The two will pass on some
Speaker 1: of this income to their airs, though it isn't known
Speaker 1: how much. And as if all of this wasn't enough,
Speaker 1: the firm's complexity involves a lot more than money. Another
Speaker 1: aspect that's difficult for outsiders to grasp is its myriad rules, regulations,
Speaker 1: and traditions. Some are non controversial, like bowing or curtseying
Speaker 1: to the Queen, but many others may seem silly or
Speaker 1: off putting. Women are supposed to always wear pantyhose, for example,
Speaker 1: and never cross their legs while sitting. Makeup is supposed
Speaker 1: to be minimal, and couples are not supposed to engage
Speaker 1: in any public displays of affection, not even handholding. Oh
Speaker 1: and you're not supposed to close your own car door.
Speaker 1: But who's making these rules, insisting that they be followed,
Speaker 1: or allowing them at times to be broken. Clancy says
Speaker 1: it's unclear. She said the operations of the monarchy are
Speaker 1: complex and there are many different individuals involved in running
Speaker 1: the institution, from public relations to HR to financial advisors. Furthermore,
Speaker 1: tradition is important as it's a form of historical legitimacy
Speaker 1: for the monarchy, and this is where things loop back
Speaker 1: to Prince Harry and Markel because one other major component
Speaker 1: of the firm is the Royal Rota or the Pool System,
Speaker 1: comprising a group of reporters and photographers from seven UK publications.
Speaker 1: For the past forty years, the royal family has granted
Speaker 1: the Rota special access to their royal engagements in exchange
Speaker 1: for coverage, as coverage helps maintain the monarch key's relevance.
Speaker 1: These press members are expected to share material with each other. Today,
Speaker 1: four of the rod of publications are tabloids, including The
Speaker 1: Daily Mail and Son, and these ROTA journalists often write
Speaker 1: about marcle harshly and sometimes in racist ways. One of
Speaker 1: the biggest reasons that the couple left the Royal family,
Speaker 1: according to the Winfrey interview and other press accounts, appears
Speaker 1: to be their distress and discussed with the ROTA and
Speaker 1: their wish to escape its orbit. UK's National Union of
Speaker 1: Journalists expressed concern at the time of the decision in
Speaker 1: to leave the ROTA, stating that as the Royal Family
Speaker 1: is partially funded by the public quote, we cannot have
Speaker 1: a situation where journalists writing about the Duke and Duchess
Speaker 1: of Sussex can only do so if they have the
Speaker 1: Royal Seal of approval. And although their separation from the
Speaker 1: firm and the ROTA means no more income from the
Speaker 1: Sovereign Grant or the Duchy of Cornwall, the two should
Speaker 1: be just fine. In step back from their royal duties.
Speaker 1: Harry and Megan, as they would now like to be called,
Speaker 1: are allowed to earn a living on their own. The
Speaker 1: couple quickly inked a three year podcasting deal with Spotify
Speaker 1: it's allegedly worth twenty five million dollars, and a five
Speaker 1: year Netflix deal allegedly worth over a hundred million. These
Speaker 1: deals will allow them to produce documentaries, films, podcasts, kids programming,
Speaker 1: and other content down the Road. Today's episode is based
Speaker 1: on the article the Firm Versus the Family? How does
Speaker 1: the British Monarchy Really Work? On how stuff works dot Com?
Speaker 1: Written by Melanie Radzkie McManus. Brain Stuff is a production
Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio in partnership with how stuff Works
Speaker 1: dot Com and is produced by Tyler Clang. Four more
Speaker 1: podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.