The palace welcomed visitors again at the weekend – for the first time since the start of the Covid 19 pandemic. It is currently only open in summer. But the anti-monarchy group “Republic” demands that the palace should be open all year round.
People take photos in front of Buckingham Palace in London on July 13, 2022. Ten more days until the palace is open to visitors.
Those who want to take a selfie in Buckingham Palace rarely have the opportunity to do so. The palace can only be visited during a few weeks in summer. This year from July 22 to October 2 – for a whopping CHF 64.
The Anti-Monarchy Group “Republic” wants to change that. She has called for Buckingham Palace to be open to tourists all year round in order to relieve taxpayers, who are responsible for maintaining the palace.
In the run-up to the platinum anniversary, costs have skyrocketed recently. At CHF 55.2 million, they were higher than ever last year. That has sparked debate.
“The ticket income could be used to finance the repairs and restorations without charging the state treasury,” said the head of the “Republic” Graham Smith on Sunday to the broadcaster Sky News.
Smith did not deny that Buckingham Palace is an important symbol of Britain and should not be neglected. But something has to change, especially now that the Queen is spending more time out of town, he said.
He also pointed out that MPs have been demanding for years that the palace be open to tourists all year round.
Haunted house with occasional garden parties
There is talk of cutting back on public sector salaries as hospitals and schools are struggling to make ends meet while millions of pounds are being put into maintaining the building. “It’s an absurd waste of money,” Smith told Sky News.
The Vatican and the White House are also open to tourists almost all year round, although the Pope and the President live there permanently.
Queen Elizabeth II, on the other hand, has now completely moved to Windsor Castle, so that Buckingham Palace is no longer inhabited anyway.
Smith spoke of a “haunted house” that only accommodates staff, but in which no one lives anymore. “There’s just no justification for it being unused year-round, aside from the occasional garden party,” he says.
Open to the public since 1993
The Queen decided to open the palace to the public 30 years ago after a fire at Windsor Castle.
The idea was that proceeds from visiting Buckingham Palace would help fund necessary repairs to the palace.
In 1993, Buckingham Palace opened its doors to the public for the first time.
The rush was great. Visitors wait in line to be admitted.
The first visitors came the following summer, 1993. Around 380,000 people saw the throne for the first time that year. The number rose to over 400,000 over the next two years and then leveled off at around 300,000 per year.
After the death of the Queen comes a campaign
The anti-monarchy group “Republic” demands on its website “that the monarchy be abolished and the queen replaced by an elected, democratic head of state”. She believes that inherited public office violates all democratic principles.
The Queen and her family cannot be held accountable at the ballot box, so nothing prevents them from “abusing their privilege, abusing their influence or simply wasting our money”.
Noisy Bloomberg the “Sovereign Grant” financed by taxpayers from 2020 to 2021 was CHF 100 million. Almost two-thirds of that was reserved for “core funding” and other Buckingham Palace expenses. Citizens contributed CHF 1.50 to the “Sovereign Grant”.
Republic also believes that the monarchy gives the government “tremendous arbitrary powers” because it can only act in the interests of the respective government – thereby excluding voters from important decisions affecting the national interest.
It is the only organization working exclusively for a republican constitution for Great Britain. In doing so, however, she seems to be representing an opinion that is not capable of winning a majority in Great Britain.
According to a representative opinion poll by 2020, almost two-thirds of Britons support the current form of government. Not even one in four people thought Britain should give up its royal family.
There are particularly many monarchists among the over 65-year-olds: 84 percent of them support the royal family. But support is also high among younger Brits between the ages of 25 and 49, at 62 percent. For many Britons, the monarchy still represents an essential part of their self-image as a people.
And yet: “Republic” wants to start a referendum campaign on the future of the monarchy after the death of Queen Elizabeth II – in the period between the Queen’s funeral and the coronation of Prince Charles. So far the plan.