New Spanish king costs just 17 cents per head, government reveals

At just 17 cents per head, King Felipe of Spain is the cheapest Monarch in Europe

Spain boasts some of the cheapest holiday resorts in Europe, and can now claim to have the most cost-effective Royal family, too.

King Felipe VI, 46 – who took to the throne earlier this year following the surprise abdication of his father, King Juan Carlos – costs each Spaniard just €0.17 cents per year, making him the cheapest figurehead on the continent…

These figures were published this week by the ruling Popular Party as the government sought to ward off growing fears that Spain’s Royal family is increasingly seen as an anachronistic, expensive throwback to the bad old days.

Yet with the budget for the Spanish Royal family frozen this year at €7.78 million, the Popular Party claim that the Spanish Royal family are not the financial burden on the average Spaniard as many believe.

Although lacking the pulling power of the British Royal family – who, it is estimated, actually bring money into the UK rather than drawing constantly from its coffers – Spain’s Royal family still turns heads and regularly gets invited to global events. And compared to Queen Elizabeth II – who costs the average Brit €0.68 cents a year – King Felipe is good value for money.

The most expensive Royal family per head in Europe is actually the Dutch Royals, who last year cost the taxpayer €40 million. However, Dutch King Willem-Alexander is widely loved in the Netherlands, a country where the issue of monarchy is rarely discussed.

Not so in Spain, where calls have been increasing for the country to scrap its monarchy. The Royals’ image was partly tarnished in 2012 and 2013 amid a series of scandals – ranging from embezzlement and fraud allegations to hunting PR disasters. The incidents damaged the Royals’ credibility and may have hastened King Carlos’ abdication this year.

But since the beginning of the economic crisis, at least the Spanish Royal family has appeared to recognise the hardships of the Spanish people. In 2008, the annual royal budget was €8.66 million, but that figure has fallen steadily with each passing year. Next year’s freeze is, however, the first time in five years that the Royals have not taken a pay cut.

Buried beneath the headline of Royal cost was also the announcement that Mariano Rajoy, the Prime Minister of Spain, was also freezing his own annual salary. It will remain at a reasonably modest (for a leader on the world stage) €78,185 per year.