Members of the Scottish National Party (SNP) have voted to stop the Royal Family's public funding.

The Royal Family

The Royal Family

The political party - which is led by the First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon - overwhelmingly voted against public funding after its members were told that the Queen is "purring all the way to the bank" by Julie Hepburn, the Nationalists' political education convener, at the party conference in Glasgow.

She said: "It's basically the equivalent of the Royal Family winning the lottery every single year.

"No need for the Royal Household to play Euromillions, with the Sovereign Grant Her Majesty is purring all the way to the bank."

What's more, Hepburn said that "there can be no moral justification for giving just one family over £70 million" at a time of austerity, while she also implored SNP members to "see how ordinary people are being shafted by a rich elite".

She said, too, that the Sovereign Grant was "a symbol of everything that is rotten at the core of the UK's political system", adding that in an independent Scotland, everyone would be treated as "valued citizens, not subjects".

On the other hand, Jackson Carlaw of the Scottish Conservative Party defended the Royal Family's public funding.

Speaking after the controversial vote took place, Carlaw responded: "This is unsurprising given how extreme and out-of-touch so many elements of the nationalist conference delegation are.

"What they need to remember is people in Scotland like and respect the Monarchy, and would disagree entirely with the conclusion of this vote."