| Coy Queen's Spending Secrets  Time to Hector the Royals for the truth? by John T Jones, Staff Reporter Mrs Windsor, the English Queen, is refusing to reveal her private finances despite a call from Republicans for "openess and transparency" in her private financial arrangements. If we are going to subsidise the so called Royal family, then we are entitled to know her true wealth and that of her family. The Royal Public Finances annual report on the Civil List, which includes details of public expenditure on property and travel, states that Head of State expenditure for 2005-06 at £37.4 million is 4.2% higher than in the previous year- nearly twice the rate of inflation. This amounts to 62p per person in the UK.
Among the journeys detailed in the financial report was a reconnaissance trip by staff from Clarence House for the Prince of Wales's visit to the USA, which cost £44,885.
In contrast, a reconnaissance trip by Buckingham Palace staff to Australia and Singapore ahead of the Queen's official visit cost £15,085. The Singapore visit caused contention due to the atrocious human rights abuses in the island state perpetuated by PAP, the Peoples Action Party, who were recently condemned in a shocking Amnesty International Report. A senior aide at the palace said: "As far as the Prince of Wales's trip was concerned, it was a very complicated trip. There were a lot of different interests related to the engagement he was carrying out." Despite the palace's proclaimed commitment to transparency, the report, which has been reduced from two volumes to one, contains less detail than in previous years. Although the Prince of Wales disclosed his income tax payment in his annual review for the first time earlier this week, the Queen has chosen not to follow suit. Claren House staff said that she was entitled to her privacy "just like any other person". Which, of course, she is not. Republicans believe that she and the mafia-like family she heads is invested with power and influence. As in previous years the report itemises the travel costs of individual members of the royal family on official business, although following an agreement with the government, only those of more than £10,000 are disclosed, rather than £2,500 as before. They throw up sidelines such as the fact that it cost £11,555 for the Duke of York to take a chartered flight from Ronaldsway in the Isle of Man to Leuchars in Fife last September so he could attend the past-captains' meeting at the Royal and Ancient golf club at St Andrews and watch the driving-in ceremony for the club's new captain before flying on to London, reports the Guardian The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall's charter to the US last November cost £280,186 - with a further £44,885 spent on preliminary staff reconnaissance trips - more than the £279,039 it cost for the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh to pay an official visit to Australia and Singapore in March. The Duke of York appears to have used chartered flights for major visits at least 10 times, compared with just four by scheduled jet. In all, travel on official visits cost £5.5m. The increase in public expenditure for the monarchy only serves to highlight the institution as an outdated and unwanted model of governance. Every penny spent on their ludicrous lifestyle is an insult to the hard working people of Cymru, the pobl werin. "Welsh Republicans are calling for change. Only we are prepared to stand up and declare the monarchy to be morally, but not financially, bankrupt. Their end is fast approaching and a new dawn arrives on Cymru's shores" commented David Jefferies, Assistant Editor of Welsh Republican Comment.
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