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Sources of fundingThe four sources of funding of The Queen, or officials of the Royal Household acting on Her Majesty's behalf, are:
The Civil ListThe Civil List is the sum provided by Parliament to meet the official expenses of The Queen's Household so that Her Majesty can fulfil her role as Head of State and Head of the Commonwealth. It is not in any sense 'pay' for The Queen. The Civil List dates back to the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660, but the current system was created on the accession of George III in 1760, when it was decided that the whole cost of civil government should be provided by Parliament in return for the surrender of the hereditary revenues (principally the annual income of the Crown Estate) by the King for the duration of the reign. Today those revenues amount to £95 million per year. About 70 per cent of Civil List expenditure goes to pay the salaries of staff working directly for The Queen. Their duties include dealing with State papers, organising public engagements and arranging meetings and receptions undertaken by The Queen. The Civil List also meets the costs of functions such as the Royal Garden Parties (Her Majesty entertains over 40,000 people each year). The Civil List is set by Parliament as a fixed annual amount of £7.9 million for a period of up to 10 years. The Household is currently succeeding in containing Civil List expenditure within inflation, however, and the resulting surplus is being carried forward to reduce the amount of the Civil List for the next 10-year period. The budget for each year's projected net Civil List spending is reviewed by the Treasury, which audits the accounts and verifies that the Household's financial management is in line with best practice. Details of expenditure are published. The Grants-in-AidProperty servicesParliament, through the Department of National Heritage, provides a Grant-in-Aid annually to the Royal Household. The money is used for the upkeep of the palaces occupied by members of the Royal family, and used for official purposes. These are Buckingham Palace, St James's Palace and Clarence House, Marlborough House Mews, parts of Kensington Palace, Windsor Castle and related buildings and Hampton Court Mews and Paddocks. Also included are the Queen's Gallery at Buckingham Palace and properties available for residential use, mainly by staff and pensioners. Costs of the Historic Royal Palaces or Unoccupied Palaces are not the responsibility of the Royal Household. The Historic Royal Palaces Agency (an agency of the Department of National Heritage) look after the Unoccupied Palaces which include the Tower of London, Hampton Court and the State Apartments at Kensington Palace. Approximately 75 per cent of funds are spent on the maintenance of the buildings. The rest goes toward utilities, fire, health and safety services, non-domestic rates, administration and maintenance of gardens. Accounts are published and presented to Parliament each year. In 1995-96 the Grant-in-Aid amounted to £20,440,000, but the Royal Household plans to reduce the annual sum to £15 million by the end of the decade. Royal travelEach year the members of the Royal family carry out more than 2,500 official engagements in the United Kingdom and overseas; hitherto the travel costs involved have been met directly by Government Departments. From April 1997, the Royal Household receives a Grant-in-Aid from Parliament, through the Department of Transport, to pay for Royal travel. An annual report will be published. The Grant-in-Aid will be used to buy air and rail travel, using the services of the Royal Train, the RAF's 32 (The Royal) Squadron and suitable commercial providers. The Privy PurseThe Privy Purse meets official expenses of The Queen, not covered by the Civil List, and some private expenditure. The principal item of expenditure is to pay for the official expenses of members of the Royal family, except for Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales. The Privy Purse is financed mainly by the net income of the Duchy of Lancaster, a landed estate which has been passed to each reigning monarch since 1399. The Duchy revenues provide a source of income separate from other Crown inheritances. The Duchy is the responsibility of the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster - normally a Cabinet Minister - and annual accounts are laid before Parliament. The net surplus for the year to March 1996 amounted to £5.35 million before tax. The Queen's personal wealth and incomeThe Queen's personal income, derived from her personal investment portfolio, is used to meet private expenditure. Her Majesty's private funds, as for any other individual, remain a private matter, but the Lord Chamberlain said in 1993 that estimates of £100 million and upwards were 'grossly overstated'. The Queen owns Balmoral and Sandringham, both inherited from her father. She also owns the stud at Sandringham (with a small amount of land in Hampshire), West Ilsley Stables and Sunninghill Park, home of The Duke of York. Income derived from public access to Balmoral and Sandringham goes towards meeting the costs of managing the properties. Her Majesty owns no property outside the United Kingdom. Estimates of The Queen's wealth have often been greatly exaggerated, as they mistakenly include items which are held by The Queen as Sovereign on behalf of the nation and are not her private property. These include Royal Palaces, art treasures from the Royal Collection, heirlooms in The Queen's jewellery collection and the Crown Jewels. The 'inalienable' items held by Her Majesty as Sovereign, rather than as an individual, cannot be disposed of by The Queen and must pass to her successor as Sovereign. |
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