“I Gather Not All the Bars Belong to Us,” Says the Queen
Her Majesty made a certain quip last week, according to British press agents, about Gordon Brown’s controversial sale of Britain’s gold reserves. While the Queen was speaking with George Osborne, she mentioned a visit she had made earlier this month to the Bank of England vaults, where thousands of gold bars are kept. She then commented to the Chancellor: “I gather not all of the bars belong to us.” Was she referencing Brown’s sale or the fact that the Bank of England store the gold of multiple nations in their vaults.
Mr Osborne, smirking, replied: “No, Ma’am. Some of them were sold before this Government got in, but I’m pleased to say that we have still got some left.”
During the publicity stunt, the Queen examined the stacks of gold bars stored in the Bank’s vaults. The British press really did present the piece as if the Queen truly was inspecting the gold bars as if on a diplomatic sojourn. The Queen, having been pampered above and beyond the purview of ordinary life, most likely never attended a assaying class.
The queen’s comments was in reference to Mr Brown selling half of Britain’s gold reserves for £2 billion, when the price of gold was at a 20-year bottom. Since that date, the value has increased six-fold. The Exchequer has lost more than £9 billion. That gold was sold to major banks and investors, who have millions on their investment.
The Queen has taken a close interest in the global financial crisis, asking a group of economists in 2008: ‘Why did nobody notice?’
