Interesting Facts

Bees contribute more to the British economy than the Royal family. (According to research carried out at the University of Reading, the overall value of the contribution of our busy bees is £651 million a year, which is £150 million more than the Royal Family brings in through tourism. In fact 85 per cent of the UK’s apple crop and 45 per cent of our strawberry crop relies on bees to grow. These two crops alone brought in £200 million to Britain in 2012. Unfortunately honeybee colonies have slumped in the UK from 250,000 in the 1950s to fewer than 100,000 today. In Germany everyone seems to have their own beehive.)

According to news reports, the new royal baby, Prince George has been given some unusual gifts, they include the following:- A hand-embroidered blanket made by nuns in Spain. An apple tree (supposedly this is traditional, but I can't remember getting one, probably because I'm not the first born son). A baby crocodile (called George). (I guess it beats silver spoons and rattles, but really, all he needs is loving parents and a relatively normal upbringing. We always tell our children that they can be whatever they want to be, so why not tell them they don't have to be whoever people say they ought to be.  If I were his parents I'd give him a free pass from becoming king.)

According to forecasters, the newly arrived royal baby is expected to boost the UK economy by around 240m. (The "boost" will be from people buying baby related memorobilia, and other sundry items. Even the royal family (who are more like a corporation every day, are getting in on the act. Allegedly they are selling baby sleepsuits modelled on a guardsman's at palace shops run by the Royal Collection Trust, Prince Charles, the grandfather-to-be, is selling handmade baby shoes through a shop on his country estate Highgrove, while the mother-to-be's parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, have added a range of baby goods to their party goods business. Now there's a thought!  Maybe if we get her to push a few more out, we will be able to pay off the national debt. )

On the birth of the newest royal baby it emerged that some people lost a lot of money because he was late. (The Duchess was around 41 weeks pregnant when she actually gave birth - a week overdue.  The British press kindly labelled her waity Katy (just what an expectant mum wants to hear). Many people in the UK who had had a punt on the baby arriving on time lost their bets, estimated at over £100,000, and British bookmakers reported a huge surge in royalty-related bets when the palace announced she had gone into labour.  They allegedly took over £1.2 million from people around the world, who were wagering on everything from the baby's sex, weight, name and even his (yes it was a boy) future career, which is a bit of a daft bet when you think about it.) Best bit of news coverage?

If her hubby isn't with her, Kate Middleton will have to curtsey to the blood princesses, including the cats in the hats, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie. (The Queen’s updated protocol — the “Order of Precedence in the Royal Household” — stipulates that if Wills (a.k.a. the Duke of Cambridge) is in the room, Kate need only curtsey to the Queen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles and, believe it or not, Charles’s wife, Camilla. The Daily Mail sets out the palace rankings as follows: The Queen; Prince Philip; Prince of Wales; Duchess of Cornwall; Prince William; Prince Harry; the Duke of York; the Duchess of Cambridge; the Earl of Wessex; the Countess of Wessex; the Princess Royal; the Duke of Gloucester; the Duchess of Gloucester; the Duke of Kent; the Duchess of Kent; Princess Alexandra. Further, as commoners (like most of the planet), Kate’s parents have not — by virtue of their daughter’s marrying “up” — become members of the Royal Family, as under a “blood Royal” rule, only the chil...

The Duke of Edinburgh was given a baby elephant when visiting Sri Lanka. (In fact, the Royal family usually receive presents when they go on holidays (sorry - state visits), and some of them are quite ridiculous. Princess Anne was given a brown Syrian bear by the then Soviet Union. Prince Andrew was given a newborn Gambian crocodile. The Queen was given a pair of sloths in Brazil in 1968. It's not always animals either. Prince Andrew was given two bags of basmati rice by the Pakistan High Commission 2008 the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall were given two wristbands, two baseball caps, four T-shirts and 18 CDs by the Bob Marley Museum in Jamaica. When the Prince of Wales married Lady Diana Spencer, she received a pair of 100-year-old silk mittens, a silver-plated mousetrap and, most esoteric of all, a piece of crocheted lace made from yarn spun by Mahatma Gandhi. Other gifts have included a box of volcanic ash from Montserrat, a yellow metal hatpin from J...

According to internet firms, the royal wedding broke all records for the biggest ever live streaming audience online. (The BBC site wobbled, but YouTube's live stream to over 400 million viewers, ran smoothly. For those who watched BBC1's coverage, which started at 8.00 am and ended at 4.00 pm, you will never get that time back.)

Prince Charles is now the longest-serving heir apparent in British history. (The previous record belonged to his great-great-grandfather, King Edward VII, who had to wait 59 years, two months and 13 days. Charles has now been waiting 59 years, two months and 14 days. I bet it only seems like yesterday. Just another example of the abuse royals have to suffer - waiting for your mum to die.)

In the UK, the total cost of keeping the monarchy in the fiscal year 2009-2010 was £38.2m. (That's 62p per person. To be honest it seems quite cheap when compared with the billions we've paid to keep the banks.)

Defaming the royals in Thailand carries a a maximum jail sentence of 15 years. (Just as well the Royals in the UK don't enforce such a law. The jails would be overflowing.)

In the UK, the Royal Family costs the equivalent of 66p per person. (According to Buckingham Palace accounts the Treasury contributed the equivalent of 66p per person to help maintain the monarchy. I think they're worth it purely for the entertainment factor.)

The Royal Family cost British tax payers £36.7m last year, equivalent to 61p per taxpayer, figures show. (At least the Queen pays a bit back every year. But, I am soooo glad I pay my taxes in Germany.)