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Prince Akishino Turns 44, Says Smaller Imperial Family is Better

The man who is second in line to Japan’s Chrysanthemum Throne turned 44 Monday. Prince Akishino gave a press conference to mark this occasion.

AP Photo/The Imperial Household Agency of Japan

One of the things he mentioned during the conference was how the Japanese taxpayers would benefit from a smaller imperial family. Under current regulations, the number of people who belong the family will decrease.

“From the point of view of the financial burden on the country, it is no bad thing,” Akishino told reporters.

He did point out, however, that there would be less people able to carry out engagements.

Japan is now dealing with a deep debt and is making budget cuts of over $1 trillion. The government is trying to prevent another recession.

In addition, Prince Akishino suggested during the press conference that members of the imperial family should have their say in its future. ‘‘I think it might be necessary to have the process of listening to the opinions of the crown prince and other parties concerned.”

Danish Royal Family to Get a Raise

Despite hard economic times, the Danish government will increase their budget and the salary of the House of Glucksburg. The increase will be at 2.7 percent, or 95.5 million kroner (18.4 million dollars) from taxpayers.

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All members of the royal family will receive more money. However, it is the Crown Princely couple – Frederik and Mary – who will see the biggest raise. Their pay will increase 400,000 kroner to 17.6 million.

Meanwhile, Queen Margrethe II, Prince Henrik, and the Queen’s sister Princess Benedikte together will see a raise of 1.9 million. The Queen will get 63 million kroner, while her husband gets 7.1 million and Benedikte gets 1.1 million.

Prince Joachim will have 3.1 million more in his wallet. His former wife, Alexandra the Countess of Frederiksborg, will also see a an increase of 2.1 million, but since she is now a private citizen, she would be taxed. It is not known how much Joachim’s second wife, Princess Marie, would receive.

If this sounds like a lot during a global economic recession, the Danish media is reporting last year, the average Dane’s wages went up 5 percent.

However, recent polls have shown a decrease in popularity for the Danish royals. Whether or not a salary raise would affect them remains to be seen.

Changes to Belgian Royal Dotations

Reuters File

Last week, the Belgian government announced changes to Belgian dotation system, where members of Belgium’s royal family receive payments from the government. The system has been scrutizined recently, and now a revision has been made final.

Under the new system, only the monarchs, the heir to the throne and his/her spouse would receive money. That means when Crown Prince Philippe becomes King, only his heir and eldest child, Princess Elisabeth, and her husband, will get dotations. The rest of his four children will have to find other ways for income.

This new system will not go into effect, however, until Philippe becomes King. That would be a relief for the Crown Prince’s siblings, Princess Astrid and Prince Laurent, who receive money from the Belgian government. It was decided it would not be fair to take those two off the dotation after having spent all their lives doing so.

Additionally, Astrid and Laurent cannot combine the dotation with any other commercial or other forms of payment.

Belgian PM Wants To Reform Royal Funding

Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme is looking to change the way the royal family is financed, though he insists the reforms will be for the best.

“It’s necessary to reform them,” Leterme told French magazine Paris Match when asked about the public grants. _44077600_albert203ap

Asked about King Albert II himself, Leterme said, “It’s more than a function, he’s a man I have learned to appreciate.”

Belgian daily La Libre Belgique said the push for reform comes from some members of the Flemish parties, including Leterme’s Christian Democrats.

A group of Flemish politicians are working on a draft law to limit public funds to the king and his heir, La Libre said.

But a member of the French liberal party — also part of the government — is drafting a rival law to ensure Philippe’s younger brother Laurent and sister Astrid are not left out of the public purse, La Libre reported.

Too many senators view a shake up of royal family funding as an attack on Belgium itself, La Libre added.

The Belgian royal family – lead by King Albert II – are one of the few unifying systems in this divided kingdom, where tensions between the Dutch-speaking Flemish and French-speaking Walloons have threatened the foundation of the nation. Earlier this summer, Leterme nearly stepped down as Prime Minister when he was unable to settle the fires between the Flemings and the Walloons. But King Albert made him stay.

Dutch Want To Know Costs Of Monarchy

While the people of Britain can find out how much their monarchy costs, the Dutch are left with a mystery of much of the royal upkeeping comes out of their paychecks.

But that may all change with the demands coming from Dutch Parliament and the Dutch media.

‘Enough is enough’ is the catch phrase now. Dutch commercial television station RTL has demanded openness, and is using a law that requires government to provide the facts, to pressure the Prime Minister in disclosing all.

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