The Value of Monarchy

The monetary value. To quote:

If the French had known the economic value of a monarchy, perhaps Louis XVI never would have lost his head. The British, obviously, have closely guarded and celebrated their royal history, and it’s paying off to the tune of 1 billion pounds a year for the U.K. economy, according to a recent study from Brand Finance ahead of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee birthday celebration. “Whatever one thinks about the constitutional principle, there seems little doubt that the institution of monarchy adds significant annual earnings and long-term economic value to the U.K.,” said Brand Finance CEO David Haigh.

The study pegged the overall value of the monarchy at a whopping 44.5 billion pounds ($69.8 billion), not quite Facebook’s 55 billion pounds, but close. “The monarchy is a powerful endorsement for individual and company brands and for the nation brand,” Haigh continued. “We believe that it is making a significant contribution to the task of driving Britain out of recession.”

In determining the “market cap” of the monarchy, the survey took into hard-to-quantify benefits like the impact on tourism, product sales, public relations, etc. along with even less tangible numbers like what the “royal feel good factor” does for gross domestic product. The total “intangible assets” came in at 26.4 billion pounds, while the tangible assets, like real estate and the crown jewels, were valued at 18.1 billion pounds.

On the cost side, security knocks 4.1 billion pounds off the value, while the expense of an additional bank holiday is 1.1 billion pounds. “Republicans might argue that if the monarchy brand is worth so much why don’t we just sell it to the highest bidder and reduce the national debt?” Haigh said. “They might be right, but don’t hold your breath for an IPO on Nasdaq!” (Read entire post.)

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