FICRY

Photo by Annie Leibowtiz (who is also broke, by the way)

If you’re facing some tough economic times at the moment, perhaps it will be of some comfort to know you are in good company. The Queen of England is quickly running out of funds. In fact, barring a significant increase in taxpayer funding, the royal family will be completely broke by the year 2012. As the Queen intends to maintain her current spending habits, she is expected to ask for a 150% increase in funds.

It’s no secret that royals have traditionally practiced a credo that is the opposite of Robin Hood’s. Instead of robbing the rich to feed the poor, they rob the poor to feed, well, themselves. The ire of the common man for members of royal families and the aristocracy has fueled revolutions and uprisings for centuries. Perhaps the only reason we haven’t found ourselves targeting kings, queens, and courtiers this time around is that there are so few of them left. (Not to mention the fact that Wall Street bankers and analysts have now taken their places as the symbol of oppression.) But hang on to your heads, folks; the recent outcry over Queen Elizabeth’s request to the UK treasury for more spending money might just show us that when all else fails, the guillotine still works.

As the Times of London reports, the Queen has picked the worst time in history to ask for more pocket change. Of course, when pocket change amounts to several million pounds sterling a year, no time is ever really a good time. Although the Civil List, that portion of funding which goes into the upkeep of the royal household, has been fixed at £7.9 million for the last two decades, the overall costs of the monarchy shouldered by taxpayers has continued to rise, last year by £1.5 million to £41.5 million in total. Strangely enough, even though the queen has been a wise investor, shoring up millions for â”hard times” (like when the roof of her Scottish country estate Balmoral goes bust), the Times reports that she has started to dip into those funds. At the rate she’s going she will have no money left in her savings in three years– and thus will fall the House of Windsor.

While it’s hard to feel too sorry for a family that lives in a palace centrally located in one of the most expensive cities in the world, it is worth noting that the royal family, although politically obsolete, still serves a few important functions. Buckingham Palace is a massive tourist draw, and the costs of maintaining a house and staff of that size begin to add up.  Aside from that, the queen still stands as an important symbol, both emotionally and historically, to those who live in Britain. UK citizen Simon Harris explains, “Yes, people think the idea of the queen is a bit silly, but we still love her in some honorable way. You’d have to be a bit of a shit to hate the queen. She’s just a nice old lady, so it’s like saying you hate your gran. She is still a really important figure for her generation.” Perhaps that’s why the monarchy still exists. If the majority of UK citizens wanted to end it, they could vote someone into Parliament who would do exactly that. Then they could keep their hard-earned tax dollars, but they would no longer be able to dream about one day meeting the queen.

For more on fallen royalty from FICRY.com, click here.

By Giulia Pines, Featured Contributor, FICRY.com