Chapter 3022 queen's pleasure (a)

When Queen Victoria first came to the throne, she liked to take guests on a room-by-room tour, even the kitchen of Buckingham Palace.

Some people say that visiting Buckingham Palace began in the era of Queen Victoria, because Buckingham Palace became the residence of the royal family after the Queen succeeded to the throne, and the guards held a handover ceremony at the door every day.

But no one knows whether it is true, just like the vast majority of staff who went to Buckingham Palace for interviews did not find the dead fly that was hiding.

There are always such and such stories around the royal family. It is said that when Queen Victoria was mourning for William IV, because of financial constraints, the Duchess of Kent dyed her a black dress with ink to save money.

This legend is of course false, the Queen wore a brown ankle-length dress that day, which was well-cut and had ruffled long sleeves, which looked elegant and classy. It is true, however, that the Queen is in dire straits, and as she has not inherited the Hanoverian throne, she has no income from Hanover. At the same time, she has no inheritance to inherit, so to solve the queen's annual salary and let her live the life that a "queen" should have, it still depends on the parliament.

The royal family originally had hereditary land, but in order to obtain a fixed income annuity, George III had already handed over a large amount of income from the hereditary land, and George IV had handed over even more income—he is a famous man who is good at spending money The playboy, it was William IV's turn to hand over all the royal land income, except for the income of Cornwall and Lancaster.

There is a secret service next to the king, which originally belonged to the king's expenses, but after William IV succeeded to the throne, he stipulated that the expenditures in the king's annual salary and administrative expenses must be allocated from the common fund, that is to say, in addition to paying family expenses, William Only a small part of the IV's annual salary was allowed to be spent on other things, and the secret service fund was not part of the king's own expenses.

Compared with the previous kings who took 850,000 pounds, William IV was more willing to take 450,000 pounds.

Parliament also agreed that the annual pension allocated to the monarch is only used to cover the monarch's personal expenses and does not cover any government departments.

The Ministry of Finance also drafted a plan, intending to make it as final as the "pardon power" and let the young Queen Victoria sign it, but it was rejected by the prime minister at the time.

As a result of the final business transaction, the queen, like William IV, gave up all the income from the royal hereditary territories, retained the income from the Cornwall and Lancaster territories, and allocated an annuity of 385,000 pounds per year to pay for family expenses. , the salaries of palace employees, the repair costs of mansions and the maintenance of royal yachts.

This money is actually 15,000 pounds more than the previous King William IV. It is said that it is 450,000 for William IV, but he still has to put a part of it in the "common fund" to pay for the Secret Service. And the subsidy, the discount is only 370,000 pounds, and Queen Victoria does not need to pay this money at all.

If she wanted to give someone a stipend, it was the Treasury Department, which was designed primarily for people in need outside the political circle, such as those who had made outstanding contributions to literature, art, or public service.

Although MI6, where James Bond worked, was also founded by the Queen, it has little to do with the Secret Service.

The Secret Service was first created in the era of Elizabeth I, when it mainly faced the threat from the Roman Church, and any British subjects who supported her risked excommunication.

During Elizabeth's struggle with the Pope, Sir Francis Walsingham was her closest adviser and the head of the British spy organization, the first professional spy organization in European history, not just "Bond" Yes, and astrologers like John Dee, although he is said to have served the Secret Service more as a topographer.

It is a pity that Queen Victoria did not have much interest in literature, art and science. She felt that women belonged to the family and a happy marriage, and this was also the part of her relationship with Prince Albert that was not harmonious.

Music is the "conciliator" of the relationship between this very different couple. They not only played the piano together, but also danced together. In the weeks after their marriage, Victoria and Albert often danced in Buckingham Palace. See the love in each other's eyes. When the honeymoon was over and the newlyweds began to receive guests, the queen didn't like those scientists and felt that Prince Albert would not be able to talk to them. Later, the Queen's husband-in-law from the European continent influenced the Queen with his educational experience and the broad vision cultivated in the European continent. It didn't take long for people to feel that the Queen's conversation had improved significantly.

Compared with England, which has just completed the industrial revolution and has colonies all over the world, Saxe-Coburg is just a small landlocked country. It was even almost partitioned to Prussia at the Vienna Conference. However, the admiration of the Maiden Queen can still make up for this gap .

What's more, educated young people live more comfortably in London than in the remote and small place of Saxe-Coburg, but he overlooked one point, the Prime Minister and the Parliament will not let a foreigner influence the queen.

Around the issue of Prince Albert's allowance, the queen and the parliament had a "big quarrel". At the official dinner, the prince would also be ridiculed by the queen's relatives. The young and energetic prince left London in a rage and went to Windsor live.

The Queen doesn't like Windsor Castle, which is depressing and boring, and her love for Buckingham Palace can be seen from her love of taking people around. But if Prince Albert is there, then she can't help but accept continuing to live in Windsor.

The pair decided to buy another house after visiting Scotland, which reminds Prince Albert of Germany and the Isle of Wight, which reminds him of the Mediterranean. The Isle of Wight is very close to London and Windsor. They will enjoy a "normal" family life here with enough privacy, away from the pressure of Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, but they must first raise funds. Will subsidize the two to enjoy a luxurious country house.

In this way, Prince Albert became enemies with people close to the queen, because when he sorted out the royal accounts, he found many "doubtful points", such as ordering unnecessary food, purchasing goods without any contracts, The hospitality exceeds what is required for the Queen's banquet. All of these led to the baroness, who had served the royal family for 21 years, to leave the UK and return to Hannover. When the baroness left, the queen didn't even say goodbye to her long-time friend.

Prince Albert and the Baroness did not get on well, and each resented the other's relationship with Victoria.

The better thing about Lily and Sirius is that Lily has never disliked the relationship between James and Sirius, on the contrary, she is used to it. After all, she has seen them often playing together since she was a student in the lounge.

After becoming Mrs. Potter, she wanted to be friendly to Sirius, but Sirius was very disgusted with Lily. Lily was sometimes "rough nerves". She didn't feel Sirius' hostility at all, and they got along only through James' "mediation" harmony.

All in all, Severus planned to sneak into the Secret Service during the opening of Buckingham Palace this summer, find a chance to get close to the Queen, and then obtain the writ of habeas corpus signed by her. Even if this thing has no legal effect, it is at least a "talisman".

Millicent Bagnor has been criticized ever since she said "I firmly uphold everyone's right to indulge in carnival" at the International Confederation of Wizards. received a round of applause,

At that time, the president of the International Federation of Wizards was Albus Dumbledore, of course he is now, and he did not maintain order on the scene in time. Also because of this relationship, Hogwarts, which is currently under tremendous pressure, has not received the support of the Minister of Magic.

"Are you really planning to sneak into the Secret Service?" Pomona held a glass of iced watermelon juice and placed it in front of the guests. "How did you sneak in?"

"Let's talk about it at that time." He took a sip of watermelon juice, then cursed and raised his eyebrows.

"What's wrong?" Pomona asked.

"It's too sweet," he grinned.

Pomona took a sip, which was mixed according to her own taste. She is not like someone who likes to drink bitter and sour black coffee.

"What's the Secret Service doing now?" Pomona asked.

"I don't know the details, but I heard that Buckingham Palace will hold a jewelry exhibition this year to celebrate the Queen's 60th birthday." Severus said.

Pomona began to estimate.

"Didn't she have her 60th birthday last year?" Pomona asked.

"Don't expect the efficiency of the civil service," he said dryly, "not to mention the Queen's visit abroad last year."

"Well, good luck," Pomona said, clinking watermelon juice with his glass.

"Do you have anything else to drink?" He put down the watermelon juice, stood up on his own, and rummaged through her office.

Originally, she had nothing shameful here, and she let him rummage until she found him walking towards a chest of drawers.

"Wait!" she said eagerly, even standing up.

But it was too late for her to speak, he had already opened the drawer and found the contents in the drawer.