Royal family to feel the pinch

Why do Royals always look so miserable?

So far, everything prime minister Mariano Rajoy has done has benefited the banks and corporations; the public are paying through the nose for other people mistakes through tax increases, sales tax increases, lower public spending, higher interest rates etc. The list goes on.

Now, Spain’s rather unpopular royal family are to get a pay cut. Don’t get excited though – it’s so small they probably wont notice.

King Juan Carlos himself will see a cut of around 20,900 euros from his state payout this year, according to an updated version of the 2012 royal budget released on Tuesday.

Prince Felipe, the Kings son and heir to the throne, will receive around 10,500 euros less. Hardly a drop in the ocean to them.

That is equivalent to a 7.1 per cent pay cut. To put this in perspective, the recent bitterly disputed cutting of the Christmas bonus for public workers amounted to around 7% of their income. So the royal family have contributed to the rescue of the nation by foregoing their Christmas bonus. Well done Juan Carlos – I’m sure the country will be fine now.

Other members of the royal family will also receive less money from the budget, which is entirely funded by taxpayers’ money.

The royal household estimates a saving of between 90,000 euros and 100,000 euros will be made from these cuts.

The salary cut got a mixed reception from the public. Some readers of newspaper websites and Twitter users joked about whether the royal family would now struggle, or whether they would still be able to afford expensive safari trips.

Others, however, commended the royal household for at least volunteering to take the cut. They volunteered? I doubt that.

The king, long revered for his role in Spain’s transition to democracy, drew derision from many after taking a lavish elephant hunting trip in Botswana at a time when 25% of Spaniards are out of work. His wife Queen Sofia also attracted criticism when she snubbed an invitation to attend Queen Elizabeth’s Jubilee dinner in London citing the fishing dispute with Gibraltar as her excuse.

Anger over Kings hunting trip

The King poses with his $15,000 prize

While the rest of Spain wallow under a mountain of unpaid debts, rising unemployment and unprecedented public debt King Juan Carlos of Spain has decided now would be a good time to spend $24,000 on an elephant hunting trip to Botswana.

The 74-year-old monarch was plastered over the pages of Spanish newspapers posing proudly in front of a dead elephant. The photograph came from the website of Botswana-based Rann Safaris, but had been taken down by Sunday.

A hunting safari with the company costs from $8,700 per week. A further $15,000 is payable to kill an elephant. That’s what an elephants life costs is it?

The owner of the company, Jeff Rann says “You have to manage the world’s animal populations, to their betterment,”

“We are trying to improve their habitat.” – by killing them for profit? How does that help them?

The trip, described as private by officials has prompted a storm of protests from animal rights groups and others demanding to know how much the trip cost.

This is not the first time the King has been in trouble for killing innocent defenceless animals. Six years ago allegations surfaced that the king had shot a drunken Russian bear that had been plied with honey and vodka. This was laughed off as ridiculous by officials. It seems the royal family would be better off staying away from guns. The king shot and killed his brother in an accident when he was a teenager and recently his 13 year old grandson shot himself in the foot with a weapon he was not legally old enough to use.