Should The Queen of England Sell More Of Her Assets?

Today's UK Guardian newspaper, one of the bestfarming or horses.
respected newspapers of Great Britain, has thisRoyal critics feel it is high time that her Majesty used
headline: "Britain is at risk from an economic deathher immense private wealth to pay off her public
spiral." Nick Clegg, the Liberal Leader has stated thatdebts. The maintenance of Buckingham palace alone
Britain in facing the biggest deficit since the Secondhas run up a bill of £40m.  Both Balmoral in Scotland
World War.and Sandringham House in Norfolk are her Majesty's
In June 2010 David Cameron warned the British publicprivate homes and as far back as 2002 they had a
that the coming budget cuts would affect every singlecombined value of £60m.  
person in the country and the effects could stay forBoth of these estates have been owned since the
years or even decades.  So what about the Queen19the century by the Royal Family.  The Sandringham
of England, how is she affected?Estate has been owned since 1862 and is the
Yesterday the Queen sold one of her properties inmuch-loved country retreat of the Queen.  It has 240
Cheshire for just under 1 million pounds.hectares of woodland and health, 24 hectares of
Accounts published by the Palace revealed that thebeautiful gardens, as well as the house itself and a
Queen's reserve of public cash has fallen immenselymuseum.  It has fruit farms and livestock, residential
over the last ten years, as a result of which she hasand commercial properties and is run with the aim of
had to sell her Cheshire property.  The public cashbeing financially self-sufficient.
has fallen from £35m to £1m over ten years; this isBalmoral was bought by Queen Victoria and Albert in
the money which the Queen uses to pay her1848, at which stage they paid £30,000 for it and
increasing staff bills as well as fund her role as Headthen the pioneering Albert embarked upon improving
of State.the castle which dated back to the 14th century.  In
The property she has sold in Cheshire is a 16th1852, they carried out the local traditional cairn building
century listed farmhouse, Hadley Hall, which nestles inritual.  This tradition involves the laying of one rock
50 acres of Cheshire countryside.  It went to auctiononto another to create a mound.  This establishes the
by the Duchy of Lancaster and raised close to £1mclaim to their land, then a piper plays and Victoria and
in cash.Albert danced and drank whisky.  Today Balmoral
The Duchy of Lancaster is the Queen's nationalremains a favourite residence of Queen Elizabeth II.
property portfolio which provides her with a privateHowever some may say that it is nice to have a
income.  It is made of up 46,000 acres in England andfavourite residence, as it suggests that one has more
Wales but in 2009 it lost one fifth of its value, equatingthan one residence. Yet as Queen of a country
to £75m.shouldn't one's first concern be to help her people and
The Duchy of Lancaster is also selling to agriculturalperhaps she could lead the way by selling some
plots of land, one of sixteen acres with a guide priceassets?
of £90,000 and the other of 33 acres with a guideBe part of our poll, it is one quick question, click here on
price of £150,000.  Both of these are suited forQueen of England.