Why The Royal Family Isn't Allowed To Play Monopoly

Being part of the royal family might come with a lot of perks, but it's not all fun and games. Royal life also comes with quite a lot of responsibilities, not to mention the pressure of constantly being scrutinized by the media. There's also a laundry list of things that royals can't do, including playing the board game Monopoly.

What's so bad about Monopoly? The iconic game is beloved around the world, and it seems that the royals love it, too. Unfortunately, they're a bit too competitive for the cutthroat board game. According to The Telegraph, in 2008, the Duke of York, Prince Andrew, visited the Leeds Building Society's headquarters to commemorate its renovation. He was presented with the game and said, "We're not allowed to play Monopoly at home. It gets too vicious." 

Now, it's entirely possible that Prince Andrew was joking, but considering the strict protocol the royal family must follow, a family-wide Monopoly ban seems plausible, albeit rather restrictive — not to mention nearly impossible to enforce. Even commoners can get into a brawl over an intense round of Monopoly, after all. We can only imagine the chaos that must have broken out for a member of the royal family (likely the Queen) to declare that the family could no longer play the game. 

It's possible, of course, that members of the royal family might still get away with playing a covert game of Monopoly. There are some rules, however, that seem to be stricter. For example, according to PopSugar, royals aren't allowed to give autographs. The BBC says that the family is also forbidden from eating shellfish when traveling the world for their royal duties. Also banned are rare meat, foreign water, and even spicy dishes. This is to prevent upset stomachs that could disrupt the royal itinerary. 

Whether or not members of the royal family indulge in the occasional game of Monopoly, it's clear that royal life can be rough.