Prince William Defends 'The Point' Of The Royal Family

If there's one thing that the British royal family is indisputably good at, it's pomp and circumstance. Take a look at all of the pageantry and traditions at events like the coronation and Trooping the Colour. And those big events can draw big crowds, which translates to big money. The Centre for Economics and Business Research estimated that the coronation celebration brought in £337 million. And people line up and pay to see inside royal houses like Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, generating millions of pounds each year.

However, there are also costs to keeping the royal family around. Queen Elizabeth's funeral cost a striking amount of money, and financial reports from The Royal Household show that the Sovereign Grant paid out £102.4 million in 2022 for the royal family, including payroll, staffing, housekeeping, and travel expenses. There are some who think that the cost isn't worth it, and that the monarchy should come to an end. But William, Prince of Wales, who will someday become king, spoke with The Sunday Times about the value that the royal family brings to the country, despite some thinking that the royal family doesn't have a point.

Prince William spoke with The Sunday Times about just what it is that the royal family does, acknowledging that it might not be obvious at first, "We're all very busy and I think it's hard sometimes to see what the family bring and what we do," he explained. "But the amount of causes, the interests, the dinners, the meetings, the visits, whatever it is, that we do day in, day out, throughout the year, we've always been involved." The working royals are definitely out in the world attending various events; in 2022, Prince William had 126 royal engagements, Catherine, Princess of Wales had 90, and Anne, Princess Royal once again came out on top as the hardest working royal with 214, per People.

A part of what the royal family provides is attention to certain initiatives that otherwise might go under the radar. William noted that when they are, "trying to spotlight other causes, other people, other interests, and help people where we can." And William is planning an initiative that would be a clear, concrete benefit of the royal family — building "social housing" at the Duchy of Cornwall, which William inherited from King Charles, as a part of his quest to help end homelessness in the U.K.