By Kristina Moskalenko
It’s not just the British royals who are busy. Across Europe and beyond, royal families balance centuries of tradition with the demands of modern public life — and, in some cases, their own sources of private income. So how much do they really work, and where does the money come from?
Forget the fairytale image of tiaras, tea parties, and endless idle afternoons — the Windsor calendar alone tells a far grittier tale. Far from living a life of leisure, the royals spend more time working than most of us realise.
How Much They Work
According to data released by Buckingham Palace on January 27, Princess Anne emerged as the hardest-working member of the Windsor family in 2020, clocking 145 days of official duties and attending 148 engagements. Prince Charles followed closely, working 141 days with 146 meetings. Even Queen Elizabeth II — at 94 — logged 130 working days and 136 engagements, proving that retirement was not on her agenda.
The finances also defy easy caricature. Maintaining “the Firm,” as the monarchy is colloquially known, cost £69.2m in the 2019/20 financial year — about the price of a 1963 Ferrari 250 GT or a middling Hollywood blockbuster. Yet scrutiny is intense: since 2016, the cost per UK taxpayer has tripled, from 65p to £2 annually.
The monarchy, in other words, is less a gilded relic than a high-functioning institution — one whose workload and price tag remain firmly in the public eye.
Monarchies on the European continent operate on far leaner budgets. Official reports show that the most “lavish” court — Monaco — spends around $55m annually. The Dutch royal household costs taxpayers roughly $50m, Sweden’s monarchy $16.5m, and Belgium’s about $14m. Denmark has in recent years allocated approximately $12.5m a year to its royals, while Spain’s court received less than $10m from the state budget in 2020.
Public funds, of course, are not the only source of income. Royal families also derive significant revenue from family assets, particularly property. Yet these sums still fall short of sustaining the kind of “royal lifestyle” that popular imagination conjures. Unsurprisingly, many royals — especially those further from the centre of power — seek additional income.
“This is undoubtedly a trend,” says Sandy Loder, founder of AH Loder Advisers. “The reasons are simple: responsibility and cost.” His firm advises wealthy families on issues such as inheritance of multimillion-pound estates. “A large family is both a reputational risk and an expensive commitment,” Loder adds. “Many of my clients, aged between 18 and 40, fly on private jets and attend parties on superyachts. Yet they often lack even the most basic professional skills, such as working in an office — let alone understanding how to run a business.” For this reason, Loder welcomes efforts by royals to gain work experience.
Where They Work
Among millennial royals, one of the most popular career paths is fashion. Actively involved in the industry are Prince Nikolai William Alexander Frederik, eldest grandson of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and sixth in line to the throne; Lady Amelia Windsor, 39th in line to the British crown; Her Royal Highness Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece and Denmark; and Archduchess Eleonore von Habsburg.
Fashion is also the sphere of His Highness Sawai Padmanabh Singh, a polo player and member of the former ruling family of Jaipur in modern-day Rajasthan. Beyond catwalk appearances and advertising campaigns, the millennial prince has entered the hospitality business by offering part of the family palace, built in 1727, on Airbnb. The Gudliya Suite — which has hosted guests such as Prince Charles and the Princess of Wales, as well as Oprah Winfrey — comes with a driver, butler, private pool, royal dinner and breakfast. The price: $8,000 a night.
Not all royals, however, seek the limelight. Some prefer quieter pursuits. Princess Elisabeth von Thurn und Taxis of Germany works as a contributing editor at American Vogue and writes columns for local publications. A devout Catholic, she has also published a liturgical work, Faith of the Children: Praise of Popular Devotion, in both German and Italian. Princess Tatiana of Greece and Denmark, meanwhile, built her career as a PR consultant and events organiser at Diane von Fürstenberg.
Ownership of fashion and lifestyle brands is another popular pursuit among millennial royals. Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana of Thailand designs clothing under her own label, Sirivannavari. Pauline Ducruet, granddaughter of Grace Kelly, runs the unisex brand Alter Designs — she also represented Monaco in diving at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics in Singapore. In 2019, Princess Talita Natasha von Fürstenberg launched a youth line under her grandmother Diane von Fürstenberg’s fashion house. Politics is another of her interests: a Georgetown University student in international relations, she interned on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.
There are also more unconventional examples. Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark once worked incognito as a production assistant at Fox News and now pursues environmental photography. Princess Märtha Louise of Norway, daughter of King Harald V and Queen Sonja, travelled the world with her partner giving spiritual lectures marketed under the brand “The Princess and the Shaman” — until the royal family prohibited her from using her title commercially.
“Many members of royal dynasties do not want their compatriots to see them simply as people living off the state,” concludes Sandy Loder. “And those who are not among the first three in line to the throne often simply want to live ordinary lives.”
Originally Published: https://www.vedomosti.ru/lifestyle/articles/2021/02/18/858372-tsarskoe-delo
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