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?

New episode – our young girls are being dragged down by trashy celebrities. Is Royalty the antidote? What will happen when princes choose “glamour models” as their princesses? Discuss it here:

See the show here.

“Finally, Fergie catches a break,” says The Daily Beast.

Unbelievable statement? You bet. The website is referring to the reports that the USA’s own Oprah Winfrey has offered the scandal-plagued, money-hungry Sarah Ferguson a prime-time talk show. It would debut on the upcoming Oprah Winfrey Network, which Oprah is currently trying to fill with original shows before launch day in 2011.

The reports are currently unconfirmed, but a “source” from Fergie’s circle claims that Oprah did offer the opportunity for her own show. The reason could only come from a Fergie supporter – they claim Oprah was “impressed by Sarah’s poise when she appeared on her show”.

Oprah’s folks at Harpo Productions put it a little less enthusiastically: “We have had initial conversations with Sarah Ferguson about a docu-series,” the network said in a prepared statement, “not a talk show, but there is nothing to announce at this time.”

NY Post

Some women have good Breeding, and some women are simply breeding. Let’s take a look at who our young girls should be emulating, and who they should avoid at all costs.

Let’s review:

Breeding:

breeding:

Breeding:

breeding:

Breeding:

breeding:

Breeding:

breeding:

Any questions? … to be continued.

Lord Andrew Lloyd-Webber has his eye on Highclere Castle in Hampshire, England. He says he would love to buy it and house part of his extensive art collection there.

This isn’t good news for the castle’s owner, however. The estate has been the ancestral home of the Carnarvon clan for over 300 years, and the current Lord Carnarvon frowns upon selling it.

George Herbert, the 8th Earl of Carnarvon told the Daily Mail that the estate “[I]s absolutely a treasured, long-term family estate and I have never discussed selling it to anyone. It is not for sale. [Lord Lloyd-Webber] has not approached me directly and the first I knew about him expressing his interest in this letter was just before a recent council meeting.”

Maintenance has been a struggle for Carnarvon, and the cost of repairing the 150-room stately home is estimated at £12 million. He plans to raise the funds by allowing 15 houses to be built within the 4,000 acre estate. The money from the sales – or rent, should he choose – would go to the repairs. Lloyd-Webber, on the other hand, says if he owned the property he could restore it to its former splendor without having to develop the land.

In his letter to Basingstoke Council, Lord Lloyd-Webber said that he would like to combine his Sydmonton estate and Highclere in order to house his art collection.

I don’t know about everyone else, but I think that perhaps the two men could reach a compromise: Lord Carnarvon could rent part of the estate to Lord Lloyd-Webber so that he may house part of his art collection. The rent money could then be put towards the maintenance of the estate. Carnarvon would still own the property, it would get restored, and Lloyd-Webber would have his space for his artwork.

More:
Andrew Lloyd-Webber in Castle Row

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?