Should Queen Elizabeth be a 'have-yacht' among have-nots?
| London
It鈥檚 the other big boat story this week: Does Queen Elizabeth need or deserve a new royal yacht to mark her 60th聽year on the throne? The debate is hotting up, with Prime Minister David Cameron sailing into rough seas of opinion after supporting the idea, despite an epic year of job loss and austerity in the United Kingdom.
Cameron鈥檚 Liberal Democrat coalition partner Nick Clegg, who has been pushing 鈥渢ax the rich鈥� schemes of late, told reporters it was a debate about 鈥渉aves and have-yachts.鈥�
In a memo this fall, Education Secretary Michael Gove floated the idea of funding a聽$125 million yacht with Britain's public funds.聽Mr. Gove,聽a staunch monarchist,聽was worried that her majesty鈥檚 Diamond Jubilee could be overshadowed by the 2012 Olympic Games to be held in London.聽
The proposed vessel would replace the former royal yacht Britannia, whose decommissioning in 2006 caused a famous tear from Queen Elizabeth.聽
The notion of using public funds to buy a yacht for one of the world鈥檚 richest women in the midst of a dire economic climate was quickly scotched by Mr. Cameron, who favors private financing for the idea.聽
Prince Charles supported the plan
British newspaper The Guardian 聽about Gove's suggestion that public funds be used for the gift and later reported that Prince Charles and a prominent rear admiral . (In an article today headlined聽"Britannia CAN rule the waves!" The Daily Mail 鈥撀犅燼 major proponent of the project and often of the monarchy 鈥撀�.)
Since the Guardian broke the story and the government made strong reassurances that the project would not receive public funding, the charity behind the plan has set out to .
Plans for the yacht to be turned into a self-financing training and instructional vessel are in the works, should the proposal pan out.聽However, potential donors say it is still unclear how much of the upkeep, security, staff, and other often hidden expenses of large vessels will cost the public.聽
Queen Elizabeth is still going strong in her Diamond Jubilee year, and has achieved a singular level of popularity among ordinary Brits that is helping the monarchy and the damaged reputation of the royal family, says Nick Spencer of Theos, a public theology think tank.
鈥淏ut this is very badly timed,鈥� says Mr. Spencer.
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