The new prince is guaranteed a life of privilege. Unlike the vast majority of children born today in Tory Britain.
The birth of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s third child has been greeted with voluminous fawning throughout the capitalist media. Perhaps they are hoping the as-yet-unnamed prince will distract us from the multiple crises engulfing the establishment. But the bread and circuses of bygone eras seem positively thrilling next to this drab parading of an entirely unremarkable baby.
Except there is of course one quite remarkable thing about this particular baby. Unlike the vast majority of children born in today’s austerity Britain, it is guaranteed a sumptuous standard of living from its spectacularly wealthy parents.
Prince William is worth an estimated £40 million, while Kate ‘middle-class’ Middleton brings a modest net worth of £10 million to the family finances. William inherited £13 million from his late mother Diana (on which he naturally paid no taxes), and he receives a multi-million pound annual allowance from the Duchy of Cornwall, which is managed by his father Prince Charles.
The heir to the throne and his royal brood live in an ‘apartment’ in Kensington palace. This recently underwent a £4.5 million refurbishment – paid for by the taxpayer. The lavish property features five reception rooms, three master bedrooms, and additional dressing rooms, bathrooms and a gym. The couple also own a mansion in Norfolk, which was gifted to them by the Queen.
The experience for a working class family giving birth to a third child is rather different. Millions of working families are currently reliant on housing benefit to pay their rent. Recipient families would only be entitled to a three room house, receiving a maximum £365 a week in a housing support. In contrast, the average weekly rent for a three-bedroom property in the royal couple’s Kensington postcode is £3,823.
A working class family having their third child would also likely face the Tories ‘two-child’ limit and the benefit cap. These would restrict the amount of benefit they can receive to a total of £23,000 a year.
Will and Kate would find it impossible to pay their bills, keep up with the rent, and feed their children on such a small sum. But of course they won’t have to. As is always the case under capitalism, the punitive rules that working families have to struggle with simply don’t apply to the rich and powerful.
