The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-02-24
INsURING THE QUEENS LIFE.

Monarch May Become PrOvIdentfaI
Speculation of His or Her Subjects.
London Express.
The queens life was insured bv her
subjects for about 100000
This statement was made to an Ex-
press representative by an insurance
on1elaI In London, whose authority is in
disputable
The particular company or which ne is
rne head must pay out $4,000 among a
number Of people who held policies on
her majesty's life.
An utterly erroneous statement has
been In circulation estimating the total
insurance of the queens life at s1O,OOO,-
900.
The absurdity Of this VIII appear at
glance.
There are about seventy Offices in this
country where her maJestys life might
be insured
None of these companies permit any
one life to be insured, by any number
OF people. for an aggregate exceeding
10000.
Besides, in number of these COM
panies $4,000 is the maximum, so that,
striking an average, you have $4,000 as
the amount of the insurance on the
queens life in each company. and multi
piled by the seventy offices the total
comes out, as above stated, at about
100000.
1t is a curious fact that monarch
may thus become the object of the provi-
Dental speculation of his or her SUBJ
jects.
The life of the king. as Prince Of
Wales. is also widely insured. and viii
certainly be more so hereafter as Ed
ward VII.
Obviously, of course, people are not
at liberty to insure a monarchs life
merely at will.
1t must be shown that they have what
is technically called an "insurable inter-
est in the queens or kings life"
vast variety of claims may be adj
vanced on this understanding, and it is
not usual for insurance companies to be
eXacting in their demand for proof OF
interest
Managers of theaters and great public
entertainments have almost invariably
insured the queens life, in view of the
effect of her death upon their business,
involving diminished audiences for an
indefinite period and closed doors on GER
tain dates.
Similarly great drapery warehouses In
London safeguarded themselves by In
surance against the certainty Of the
queens death causing a sudden Interrupt
ton of the ruling fashions.
It is also not uncommon for people to
insure the lives of members of the royal
family, though the statement that the
life of the German emperor is largely in
sured in England is rather incredible,
In view of the kaiser being the head or
the German army-a fact which would
raise the premium to prohibitive rate.
For example, Prince Arthur's life was
very generally insured when he was yet
boy but upon his joining the army and
going out to Egypt as the Duke Of Con-
naught, the premiums almost doubled
with the additional risk of war.
Hence preference exists for insurfng
the lives of female members of the royal
family, whose natural chance Of reach
ing a ripe old age has the effect of keep
ing the premiums at or even under the
normal rate.
In the west of England-and absolutely
nowhere else-leases were commonly
taken ''for the period Of the queens
life," instead of for a stated number OF
years, as in other parts of the country.
The custom gave rise to the practice
of leaseholders in those parts insuring
the queens life lest by her sudden de-
mise they should suffer heavily through
the expiry of their leases.
How the custom originated nobody
seems to know.
1t may astonish people to learn that
while so many of her subjects manifest
ed this pecuniary interest in the late
queens life, her majesty never insured
herself for any sum, great or small.
Nor is the life of King Edward VII.
Insured by himself.