Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeart Radio, Hey Brainstuff Lauren Bolabom here. The world was shocked when Prince Harry and his wife Megan Markle a k a. The Duke and Dutchess of Suessex, announced they were leaving Britain's royal family in January of A second jolt occurred when the two sat down for an interview with Oprah Winfrey in March and revealed how disheartened and quote trapped they felt by the Royal institution. They also tried to explain a
bit about how the crown operates. At one point, Marcole said, so there's the family and then there's the people that are running the institution. Those are two separate things, and it's important to be able to compartmentalize that because the Queen, for example, has always been wonderful to me. It's a complicated,
convoluted system. The royal family consists of Queen Elizabeth the Second and her husband Prince Philip, also known as the Duke of Edinburgh, plus therefore children Princess Charles, Andrew and Edward and Princess Anne, and each of their spouses Elizabeth and Phillips. Eight grandchildren and nine great grandchildren are also royals. But this family is also part of a sprawling business institution with thousands of employees who manage the royal affairs
as with any other company. These employees work in human resources, public relations, information technology, housekeeping and so on, in addition to occupying visible roles such as personal secretaries, drivers, and security. About a century ago, King George the sixth, Elizabeth's father dubbed this combination of business and clan as the firm. With so many employees and such prominence, the firm requires
a lot of money to operate. In the bill came to eighty two point four million pounds or about a hundred and fourteen million dollars US. These funds don't come from taxpayers per se, but from a convoluted system with real estate at its core. And here's how it works. Every year, the UK government gives the Royal household a
monetary allotment called the Sovereign Grant. The money in the grant is a percentage of the surplus revenue from the Crown Estate, which is an extensive real estate portfolio belonging to the Crown. The portfolios profits mainly come through annual appreciation and farming in the monarchy received of the Crown estates surplus net income jump from the previous fifteent plus an additional ten percent allotment that will last a decade
to refurbish Buckingham Palace. The government retained the remainder of the surplus for the article that this episode is based on, How Stuff Works spoke via email with Laura Clancy, a media lecturer at the UK's Lancaster University and the author of the upcoming book Running the Family Firm, How the Monarchy Manages Its Image and Our Money. Clancy explained that
Queen Elizabeth the Second doesn't personally own the Crown Estate. Instead, it's a publicly owned property portfolio held in trust by the Crown, meaning that should the entire monarchy be abolished, all those profits would go to the public. Plancy also notes that the sovereign grant is often reported to be the official cost of the monarchy, but that's not quite accurate. The Royal family security is paid for by the Metropolitan Police, plus local councils pick up the tab for royal visits,
meaning the actual cost is greater. Working royals like the Queen, Prince Charles Prince William and his wife Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, received funds from the Sovereign Grant to support their work, travel, staff, clothing and residents renovations. They do not receive set salaries, however, and nor are they typically
allowed to do paid work. But the Queen receives a substantial income from the Private Duchy of Lancaster, a set of commercial, agricultural and residential properties that was attached to the monarchy in the year twelve sixty. As of it generated more than million pounds for her. That's nearly thirty five million dollars US. Similarly, as heir to the throne, Prince Charles receives income from the Private Duchy of Cornwall,
also established centuries ago. The two will pass on some of this income to their airs, though it isn't known how much. And as if all of this wasn't enough, the firm's complexity involves a lot more than money. Another aspect that's difficult for outsiders to grasp is its myriad rules, regulations, and traditions. Some are non controversial, like bowing or curtseying to the Queen, but many others may seem silly or off putting. Women are supposed to always wear pantyhose, for example,
and never cross their legs while sitting. Makeup is supposed to be minimal, and couples are not supposed to engage in any public displays of affection, not even handholding. Oh and you're not supposed to close your own car door. But who's making these rules, insisting that they be followed, or allowing them at times to be broken. Clancy says it's unclear. She said the operations of the monarchy are complex and there are many different individuals involved in running
the institution, from public relations to HR to financial advisors. Furthermore, tradition is important as it's a form of historical legitimacy for the monarchy, and this is where things loop back to Prince Harry and Markel because one other major component of the firm is the Royal Rota or the Pool System, comprising a group of reporters and photographers from seven UK publications.
For the past forty years, the royal family has granted the Rota special access to their royal engagements in exchange for coverage, as coverage helps maintain the monarch key's relevance. These press members are expected to share material with each other. Today, four of the rod of publications are tabloids, including The Daily Mail and Son, and these ROTA journalists often write
about marcle harshly and sometimes in racist ways. One of the biggest reasons that the couple left the Royal family, according to the Winfrey interview and other press accounts, appears to be their distress and discussed with the ROTA and
their wish to escape its orbit. UK's National Union of Journalists expressed concern at the time of the decision in to leave the ROTA, stating that as the Royal Family is partially funded by the public quote, we cannot have a situation where journalists writing about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex can only do so if they have the Royal Seal of approval. And although their separation from the firm and the ROTA means no more income from the Sovereign Grant or the Duchy of Cornwall, the two should
be just fine. In step back from their royal duties. Harry and Megan, as they would now like to be called, are allowed to earn a living on their own. The couple quickly inked a three year podcasting deal with Spotify it's allegedly worth twenty five million dollars, and a five year Netflix deal allegedly worth over a hundred million. These deals will allow them to produce documentaries, films, podcasts, kids programming, and other content down the Road. Today's episode is based
on the article the Firm Versus the Family? How does the British Monarchy Really Work? On how stuff works dot Com? Written by Melanie Radzkie McManus. Brain Stuff is a production of I Heart Radio in partnership with how stuff Works dot Com and is produced by Tyler Clang. Four more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.