Riding Royal – Prince allows glimpse of life on board the Royal Train as he launches Start initiative
I’m glad the U.S. does not have such ceremonial positions that feed off the tax payer $$$.. The Royal Train, introduced by Queen Victoria in 1842, has attracted controversy in recent years because of its £800,000-a-year cost, leading to calls for it to be scrapped by some MPs.
Clarence House said the cost of food, accommodation and travel on the train for this week’s tour will amount to £50,000, but pointed out that the Prince will hold numerous meetings on board in between stops.
I wonder what is it that this guy (as well as the entire Royal family) accomplishes every year for the citizenry that the Government of U.K. cannot accomplish?
Perhaps surprisingly, given the Prince’s love of all things classical, the
train’s interior décor proved to be closer to a Travelodge than a palace on
wheels.
In the 12-seater dining car, monogrammed crystalware and china bearing The
Prince of Wales’s feathers contrasts with modern, functional furniture,
while pictures of Highgrove and late Queen Elizabeth add a much-needed touch
of homeliness to the Prince’s otherwise bland personal study.
The Prince and the Duchess of Cornwall are the only members of the Royal
family other than the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh permitted to use the
Royal Train.
The Prince has his own sleeping car and saloon, built and decorated in the
early 1980s, which are swapped with the Queen’s private carriages depending
on who is using the train.
The Prince allowed the media onto the train as it travelled to Glasgow, where
he boarded it for the first leg of a week-long tour of the UK.
