In Europe today there are still 10 monarchies, all of which are maintained by the taxpayers of their respective countries. The most costly of them all is in Britain. The royal family headed by Queen Elizabeth II clocks up expenses of some 46 million euros a year, according to the crown itself. Some reports in the media suggest this figure could actually be as high as 384 million.
The system for funding the British monarchy, however, has one peculiarity, the business known as The Crown Estate, which owns different companies and which devotes 15% of its profits to maintaining the royal family. It is something that is well known, but which made headlines recently because it has just bought a McDonald's restaurant some 100 kilometres outside London.
The relationship between the British monarchy and the fast food restaurant chain has been around since the tabloid press published photos of Princess Diana taking her sons to enjoy a Happy Meal. Nor on the business level is it the first time The Crown Estate has invested in McDonald's. In 2008, the royal business invested 92 million pounds in buying one of the chain’s restaurants in the south of the country.
These McDonald's are actually part of a much larger purchase. The 2008 operation included a whole shopping area with sports shops, shops selling baby clothes and a shop specialising in barbecues. In fact, the owner of this latter shop told the media that given who the new owner was, he was going to change the name of the business to B&Queen.
A good investor
The involvement of The Crown Estate is seen as a gift from heaven by British entrepreneurs. The monarchy iteslf defines the business as "the best investor in times of crisis", and its history proves it. The company was set up in 1760, when George III, the Mad King, wanted to found a business capable of managing all of the family’s accumulated assets and, at the same time, generate profit to maintain his lifestyle.
Despite the eye-catching headlines about buying McDonald's restaurants and shops specialising in barbecues, these are not the areas in which The Crown Estate prefers to invest. The Queen of England’s company makes most of its money from small firms and, to a large extent, from all of its assets in the property and land the monarchy owns, much of which is rented out to agricultural companies.
The Crown Estate is no anecdote. This year, the company will make 97.1 million pounds for the monarchy, and this is expected to rise to 104.7 million next year. It could prove to be a vital lifeline should a future monarch get hopelessly in debt. In fact, given the amount it property it manages and its great historic value, the company is considered a national asset that is not up for sale.