Spanish Family Paid Less Than Bankers
The extraordinary financial support given to Britain’s Windsor family has been given new emphasis by the publication of figures for the income of the Spanish Bourbons. The Spanish family has felt obliged to be more open in order to counter falling support for its privileges
Carlos Bourbon takes a total of £242,628 annually in pay and expenses for being Spain’s king. According to the Financial Times this is “a fraction of what a chief executive or senior banker would expect to earn in (that) … country”. Another £252,000 is spent on financial support for relatives of Carlos. The family is also given rent-free accommodation in Madrid and Mallorca. The total annual cost of supporting the family is £6.4m.
As outrageous as it is to spend any of the people’s money on feudal rulers, the amounts are low when compared with the costs of the British monarchy. Elizabeth Windsor receives a “sovereign grant” of £36m a year. She also takes £13m each year from the Duchy of Lancaster. Son Charles is given another £19 a year from the Duchy of Cornwall for the onerous task of being his mother’s son. The total annual cost to the people of supporting this family has been estimated at as much as £200m a year.
Because the Spanish people do not take such great care of the Bourbons, these “royal” tricksters must sometimes use their initiative to make this good. Iñaki Urdangarin , the husband of Christina Bourbon, is suspected of embezzling millions of euros of public money. Christina has also recently been formally named as a suspect in the criminal enquiry. It is the good fortune of Britain’s Windsors that they are allowed to loot within the law.
Opinion polls suggest that 40% of Spaniards would like their country to be freed from monarchy.