It's also worth saying that the "soft power" of a Royal Visit, not even the Queen, is immense. A visit from the US President is probably on par with a visit from the Queen in terms of soft power projection, no other head of state in the world would garner anything close.
A visit from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge probably eclipses either.
The goodwill benefit to the UK is immense. Taking the politics out of it is also very useful, see the recent state visit to Ireland, any elected British head of state would not have been able to produce such a meaningful and symbolic event.
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I'm not sure that I agree. If you look at this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhyYgnhhKFw) you'll see just how much money they make for the UK.
I'm also quite sure that most of the Royal Family do more work than most people do.
It's also worth saying that the "soft power" of a Royal Visit, not even the Queen, is immense. A visit from the US President is probably on par with a visit from the Queen in terms of soft power projection, no other head of state in the world would garner anything close.
A visit from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge probably eclipses either.
The goodwill benefit to the UK is immense. Taking the politics out of it is also very useful, see the recent state visit to Ireland, any elected British head of state would not have been able to produce such a meaningful and symbolic event.