Interesting Links:

We love The Queen…perhaps a little too much.

Australia won’t hold referendum

In Quebec, the Queen is still Wolfe in sheep’s clothing

Who will wear the crown in Canada?

So which is it? Is Her Majesty spending more or cutting back? It’s an Express report vs. a CNN report.

On July 1st, just days prior to the release of the Royal budget, royal reporter Richard Palmer stated in his Express blog that the Queen’s spending had gone way up in the past year.

Draft figures which will form the basis of her annual financial report, due to be published on Monday, show that her Civil List spending as head of state has risen by 2.1 per cent in a year – and 4.9 per cent if you include exceptional items.

CNN reports on Buckingham Palace’s statement on Monday, July 5th:

Queen Elizabeth II’s annual budget this year is £38.2 million ($57.8 million), down from £41.5 million ($62.8 million) last year, Buckingham Palace announced Monday.

“Her annual spending has fallen by 17 percent in real terms since 2001,” the palace stated.

The British government covers the budget only for the Queen and her husband through the Civil List. Other members of the Royal Family are funded by the Parliamentary Annuity. In exchange, the Queen reimburses the government with the income from the Duchy of Lancaster, the monarch’s personal property. Would it be possible, then, for the senior members of the Royal Family (save for Prince Charles) to live off of the income from royal holdings alone?

Any accountants out there?

Who is keeping one’s books? Is the budget more or less?

Today I review the 3-DVD set of Fall of the British Empire. It is a riveting documentary beginning with the funeral of Queen-Empress Victoria, covering all the major events and players – Nehru, Mountbatten, Gandhi, and more. [Click here to go to RoyaltyNow!]

NEXT: Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire by Amanda Foreman.

“The sun never sets on the British Empire”.

The far-reaching political and cultural might of the Sceptered Isle is embodied in this documentary. Vintage Movietone News footage reveals the pageantry and magic that was, as well as the players of the worldwide drama that shaped nations and events.

Review coming soon!

Arriving on Kapiti Island

The official Maori greeting

Holding a Kiwi (weka) bird

Wearing the traditional Kiwi feather cape

Opening the Supreme Court Building in Wellington

Flashback: Maoris greet the Queen in 1954 on her first foreign royal tour

Flashback: 12–30 March 1970: The Queen participated in the James Cook bicentenary celebrations and introduced The Prince of Wales and The Princess Anne to New Zealand. This tour marked the first ‘walk-about’ in a Royal visit.

Her Majesty wears the traditional Kiwi cape

Prince Philip talking to Maoris

Flashback: April 1983 – Diana visits Gisborne, New Zealand

He made it! Prince William has kicked off his New Zealand/Australia tour. See the photos here!

There is no going back. As he walked off the aircraft at Auckland International Airport, Prince William must have known it: the next significant stage in his development as a senior royal is under way.

BBC News

ITN’s coverage of Prince William’s New Zealand visit:

Queen Dropped from Victoria’s legal system

In a bid to place Australia closer to a Republican future, references to Her Majesty have been removed from the state of Victoria’s legal system.

This latest push for the removal of the monarchy is not an isolated incident. Victoria has also scrapped the title ‘Queen’s Counsel’ (QC) and ended the practice of new lawyers swearing an oath of allegiance to the Queen.

Rob Hulls, the state’s attorney-general and acting Labo(u)r premier, said:

“Having cases presented in the name of the Queen of England is an outdated colonial tradition that has really passed its use-by date. Substituting the director of public prosecutions for the Queen or Regina reflects the legal and political independence from the United Kingdom and its monarch that has been achieved by Australia.”

Hulls denied that the timing was intended as a snub to Prince William, due to make a visit at the end of January.

David Donovan, of the Australian Republican Movement, was more than a little annoyed with the royal system getting in the way of football loyalty.

“We would find it unbelievable that Prince William, who hasn’t been to Australia since he was in nappies – and who as president of the England Football Association has strongly promoted its bid for the 2018 World Cup, in direct opposition to Australia’s bid – would be able to speak to Australians on our own national day.”

The monarchists in this southernmost state are defending the system of monarchy at full-steam, however.

“The people in 1999 took a decision in which they affirmed that we should remain a federal commonwealth under the crown,” said Professor David Flint of Australians for a Constitutional Monarchy. “It’s completely wrong for governments to remove all reference to the crown as a gradual sort of thing.”

Philip Benwell, chairman of the Australian Monarchist League, defended the invitation to the Prince.

“Prince William will be King of Australia in the future and it’s therefore appropriate that he’s invited to speak,” he said.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/theroyalfamily/6832692/The-Queen-dropped-from-Victorias-legal-system.html