When you think about board games, most people think of Monopoly first, and with good reason. You won’t catch the royal family playing, however. Queen Elizabeth has banned the legendary game from family gatherings. Find out why you won’t find a copy of the game in Buckingham Palace.
The Queen’s Gambit
While Monopoly has been an iconic game since it first appeared way back in 1935, it’s not in the closet at any of the queen’s many homes. In December of 2008, Prince Andrew (who has been very busy lately) attended an opening of the refurbished Albion Street headquarters in Leeds, and upon leaving, was gifted with a brand new copy of the game of Monopoly, which he kindly declined, leaving some onlookers surprised. But it only gets more surprising from here. Andrew then took a moment to explain that he (and the rest of his family) are “not allowed to play it at home”.
It seems the underlying reason The Firm isn’t allowed to play Monopoly, per the queen’s order, is because they get “too vicious” when they play the game against one another.
The Monopoly of Monopoly
The truth is, anyone who has ever played Monopoly can attest to the fact that board games that take nine hours to play and involve doing taxes for “fun” generally end up getting frustrating rather quickly. And it’s pretty easy for fights to emerge among players.
Now imagine that tension amped up to a thousand inside the royal palace as someone is telling Queen Elizabeth she cannot pass go and must go immediately to jail. Or perhaps the queen telling Meghan Markle that she doesn’t have enough money while laughing maniacally and looking directly at Harry. Once you imagine it, you can see why it would get ugly fast.
So for that reason, the royal family isn’t allowed to play Monopoly for fear it would end in bloodshed. And you thought your family game night got crazy.