It's time to privatize the British Monarchy

Thanks to the policies of the Conservative-led British Government, the rich have become richer while the poor have become poorer. But it's not just the working class who have suffered at the hands of the current rightist government: the middle class (who normally vote Conservative) have also been hit hard and have seen their family tax credits slashed; their child benefit payments withdrawn and their cost of living increase much faster than their salaries - and this all to fund tax cuts for bankers, tycoons and the aristocracy. I believe that it's time to redress the balance in favour of ordinary people by privatizing the British Monarchy and using the proceeds to fund tax rebates for people on low and middle incomes. Let's consider the Queen and the Royal Family: none of them are elected; nor did they compete with rival candidates to be appointed to their roles; no, they were simply born into their positions of privilege, power and vast inherited wealth - they did absolutely nothing to earn anything that good fortune has bestowed on them. In these austere times of economic gloom the royals cannot expect to continue to live the high life while all but their ennobled entourage and other particularly posh people suffer - it's time they realised that their titles, palaces and other publically-owned assets will be opened up to the free market with the benefits going to the less fortunate members of society (i.e. almost everybody else). Of course, the royals do have their own personal wealth and property (such as Balmoral Castle and Sandringham House), and I'm not suggesting that they should be deprived of this, but most of their property including the major palaces, castles, stately homes, land, antiques, fine art, vehicles and other miscellaneous assets actually belong to the nation and are held in trust by the Monarchy - and this is in addition to the Crown Estates which is a separate entity valued at eight billion pounds. Let's take the Royal palaces, castles and country estates, aren't these ripe for development as hotels and resorts? Wouldn't you pay good money to stay at 'The Grand Hyatt Buckingham Palace Hotel and Spa' right in the heart of central London? Or how about the 'Holiday Inn Windsor Castle All-Inclusive Resort' for affordable fun for all the family and conveniently located for Heathrow Airport? Or maybe the 'Mandarin Oriental Kensington Palace Hotel and Casino' would be more your style? And what about the Royal cars and carriages? These could be rented out for weddings, stag parties and hen nights at top dollar rates. Similarly, the Royal train and helicopter could by hired out as part of corporate entertainment packages. Meanwhile the Royal collections of fine art and antiques could be sold off to the highest bidders raising billions for the British public. And the Royal titles must be worth a mint too - for instance, how much do you think the likes of Donald Trump, J.K. Rowling, Lakshmi Mittal, Simon Cowell, Paris Hilton, Carlos Slim, Elton John, Roman Abramovich, Bono, Lloyd Blankfein or Madonna would pay for the five-year contract allowing them to be the sole, official holder of the ceremonial title "His Majesty the King" or "Her Majesty the Queen of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Greneda, Belize, St Christopher and Nevis, St Lucia, The Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Papua New Guinea, British Indian Ocean Territory, Gibraltar, Bermuda, The Falkland Islands, South Georgia, South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory, St Helena and its dependencies, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Anguilla, the Pitcairns; Lord of Man; Duke of Normandy; Duke of Lancaster; Commander in Chief of the British Armed Forces; Fount of Justice; Defender of the Faith and Supreme Governor of the Church of England'? It's got be worth a few pounds to someone, especially considering their bust will be printed on those pounds and they get to go on state visits around the world meeting other heads of states and having celebrities bow and curtsy to them, hasn't it? Obviously, the titles of Prince and Princess of Wales, and the various Dukedoms will fetch a bit less but they will still raise a fortune - and save a fortune too: if Prince Harry ever gets tired of attending drunken orgies in America, finds a nice girl to settle down with and wants a spectacular wedding like his brother Prince William had, he will have to pay for it himself rather than charge it to the British taxpayer like his brother did. Furthermore, the long-suffering British taxpayer would no longer have to fund The Sovereign Grant, which is the amount of money provided by Government to the Royal Household in support of The Queen's official duties, or the Civil List, which is the amount of money provided by the Government to meet the official expenses of The Queen's Household. In conclusion, as well as saving hundreds of millions on funding the decadent lifestyles of the Royal Family, the privatization of the Monarchy would raise many billions which could be used to benefit ordinary British citizens. Thank you. Sources: ---------- The Monarchy FAQ's :http://www.royal.gov.uk... The Royal Finances; http://www.royal.gov.uk... The Monarch and the Commonwealth: http://www.royal.gov.uk... The Monarch and the Church: http://www.royal.gov.uk... The Monarch and the Law: http://www.royal.gov.uk... The Monarch and the Armed Forces: http://www.royal.gov.uk... The Royal Collections: http://www.royal.gov.uk... The Royal Residences: http://www.royal.gov.uk... The Crown Estates: http://www.thecrownestate.co.uk... The Royal Transport: http://www.royal.gov.uk...