How much does the royal family cost the tax payer in comparison to the revenue that is generated by them through tourism?

[Craftypig]

Do they cost us more than they contribute?

[stokemaveric]

hi boxtops..yes that would be portmerion in stoke..they are 1 of the few pottery manufacturers that refuse to make abroad and keep the skills and jobs in stoke on trent [well for now anyway]...

[jackthehat]

The actual 'personages' of the Royal Family may be seen outside of any 'national' events......
It is more interesting to see residences when the Monarch and her family *stay* (present tense) than it would be to see where they *stayed* (past tense).

[Barmaid]

Although I see your tongue in cheek point Starbuck - none of the foreign tourists think they are going to get invited in for tea and cucumber sarnies with Her Majesty. But in the years following Charles and Diana getting married and the Duke and Duchess of York tourism here increased dramatically. The timing with this one is superb. This year Royal Wedding beamed to almost every country in the world( AND even the International Space Station) followed by the Olympics next year. In terms of "Brand UK" the timing on this marketing is superb.

[boxtops]

Yes barmaid, I've just see the people on the ISS sending good wishes and confirming that they'll be watching!

[mickrog]

well i paid my bit......winter fuel allowance cut by 50 quid......pays for a police oficer patrolling the crowds for a short time.

[starone]

Although I am very sceptical I hope you are all right. Off to have some breakfast now, dont think I shall come back today as all threads will be angled towards the wedding and I am not going to watch. It will only make me more sour and crabby than ever.

[MoonshinePete]

Wonder what the total bill is for the wedding

// For the wedding itself, under huge political pressure from the home secretary and the mayor of London, the Met is mounting one of the biggest security operations in its history, expected to cost £20m, deploying 5,000 officers. //

[MoonshinePete]

America is a much bigger country.

[Dee Sa]

I am sorry but if they want to spend their lives smiling and waving at everyone then let them pay for it, why should we ?we will have this wedding rammed down our throats in every newspaper and tv programme for weeks to come, yes we can do "pageantry" better than any other country in the world but at what cost ?

[jno]

62p a head last year

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10507329

Bear in mind that elected presidents cost money too. I haven't been able to find any figures for how much they bring in (which would probably be pretty speculative anyway).

[steg]

"62p a head", thats no bad, i'll give you a £ for each of their heads