Right, so you're talking about the new civil list system; vs. taxes on their private assets. From the way you were speaking it seemed like you were just callin

Right, so you're talking about the new civil list system; vs. taxes on their private assets. From the way you were speaking it seemed like you were just calling the private assets of the monarch their estate. If you mean the income provided here, then it is for the execution of the sovereign's duties, ie., all the staff; diplomatic costs, building costs, etc. You may be able to argue it would be less if we had another head of state, but i'd imagine the whitehouse spends a similar amount. (Likely, much more so, given the cost of presidental travel).