THE ROYAL THING

Their closely guarded privilege world run by protocol and dictated by tradition left almost no room for ordinary people to peek on the inner circle of the royal court and on their personal lives, still there are some news leak to the public on how the mesmerizing lives of the royals run.

Royal family members get their allotment through a Civil List, an annual grant to support the expenses of the sovereign performing her or his duties to the monarchy. In Britain, the Prince of Wales is not included in the Civil List because his income is directly generated from the Duchy of Cornwall.

Lately, the chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom announced that Civil List will be abolished in 2013 and the royal family would be receiving an all-in-one payment in the form of Sovereign Support Grant, other people claimed this as a signal for Prince Charles to participate more on politics matters which is viewed as threatening because royals should be above politics.

Royal family members never carry cash or credit/debit card, their expenses are managed by the masters of their household which draw finances from the civil list. The monarch never go shopping, store owners through invitations displayed their products in the palace and the Queen made round of choices starting December first. Her staff received gifts each based on their own choices on the catalog presented to them. The Queen's footmen wrapped each gift and will be handed personally by the Queen and her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh on Christmas day.

The royal family spent Christmas at Sandringham and attended church service at the local chapel. After Christmas, the royal court moved to Windsor Castle, the monarch's favorite country residence, in time for the New Year. It is at Windsor Castle also where the royal family celebrates Easter Sunday and Royal Ascot in June. Balmoral Castle in Scotland is the family's summer retreat where they spend the remaining of August organizing picnic, barbeques and hunting expedition at Balmoral. Buckingham Palace is the official London residence of the reigning British monarch. Protection Officers of the royal family members are members of the elite police force called Scotland Yard.

Monarch and her heirs never travel in one transportation facilities, this is an enduring tradition of the monarchy since the middle ages. The purpose of this, is to avoid the accidents involving the monarch and heirs. So Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles and Prince William never travel together, they always board on a separate plane or any riding facilities.

The Prince of Wales, Prince Charles is the most meticulous member of the royal family, he run his household in strictest command, the staff always made sure his standard flown a top of the house when he is in residence (for example at Highgrove). He always make memos as his way of giving instructions and making commands even around the house. He is an environmentalist and greatly adored architecture. He personally cultivated plants at his garden at Highgrove Estate, a sprawling countryside property he bought before his marriage to Diana, Princess of Wales in 1981. He strongly advocates organic farming and regularly take Wheatgrass as part of his healthy routine.

The royal family called their snack break as "tea break", usually butlers and chefs prepared a smoked salmon sandwich and tea for royals' snacks. Often times, each member of the royal family called themselves with their style and not by name. Queen Elizabeth referred her husband to staff as "His Royal Highness", Prince Charles always referred Diana "Her Royal Highness" (even after their divorce) when talking to other people and staff, but Diana  in contrast always called Charles as "hubby" or "C".

The royal family loved hunting, when at Sandringham or Balmoral, they frequently organized fox or goose hunting with other family members or invited guests. They wore tartan and kilt when at Scotland and wore plus fours when hunting. Vacuum and other sweeping electronic devices are strictly prohibited to be used in the palace before 9:00 am because the royal family simply hated the sound of these machines.