Sweden’s Royal Family have been awarded a pay rise.
The country’s finance minister, Anders Borg, announced the family will receive an extra 10.6 million kronor (£800,000) a year.
Borg says the extra money is being granted to cover improved security at Stockholm’s Royal Palace and the expected increase in the cost of Crown Princess Victoria’s official duties.
The rise means the royals will receive 110 million kronor (£8.3 million) next year.
The annual sum is intended to cover the costs of the king’s official duties as head of state and to pay for the upkeep of the royal family. It also covers running costs for the royal palaces, although maintenance of the fabric of the buildings is covered by other government grants.
Marshal of the Realm, Ingemar Eliasson - the operational head of the royal household - said: ‘The budget increase is very welcome after several years of severely curtailed grants.’ However, Gudren Schyman, a leading member of the Swedish Republican Association, said the royals should not get any money from the government.
She said: ‘The royal family no longer has a role to play. It does not belong in a modern democracy and it should therefore be natural for them to sort out their own finances.’
© bangshowbiz.biz
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