UK Royal Family's Finances

[paulchen]

I notice from the coverage of the UK Royal Finances Finances that little if no mention has been made of the money from the Crown Estates which HM The Queen has handed over to the Treasury, i.e. the Government.

The Notes for Editors on the Royal family's official website States quite clearly:

"1. Head of State Expenditure is met from public funds in exchange for the surrender by The Queen to the Government of the revenue from the Crown Estate and other hereditary revenues. The Treasury’s gross receipts in respect of the Crown Estate were £211 million in 2007-08."

With the Royal Public Finances annual report, including details of public expenditure on property and travel, stating that Head of State expenditure for 2008-09 at £41.5 million, I wonder who is making the profit out of this lot...

[paulchen]

Sorry if this is a bit of a one-man-band, but as a British Royalist I think this is an important consideration in modern times as a counter-balance to all the folk who delight in bashing the Royals.

There is a link on this site to a report by the Daily Telegraph on the Crown Estates. It quite amused me to read that the vast majority of the article consentrates on the value of the Crown Estates having gone down, as have many businesses in these hard times.

As usual, tucked away at the end, were a couple of things worth reading. Firstly, "While the asset value has fallen by £1.3 billion, the revenues from rents increased by 6 per cent, to £227 million, all of which goes to the Treasury." What a nice little earner Her Majesty is for Her Government.

Also, "The estate does not pay tax, however." Sorry? Isn't the basic definition of tax handing money over to the Government? Isn't the British Royal Family therefore not paying £227 million in tax? Am I missing something or does the media know better?

[LORD WILINGRAm]

I agree completely. I've never understood why people think thhe taxpayers are burdened by a family that really is self sustaining at this point.

[wendy]

Paulchen, I too have been repeatedly bothered by the media overlooking this issue. They portray the Royal Family to be parasitic instead of unifying. Quite frankly, I think many of the journalists who take that stance simply haven't done their homework.

And then there's the trickle-down factor. Online news sites usually have a readers' comments section and invariably there'll be comments from the public to the tune of, "What's the good of the royals anyway? All they do is waste the taxpayers' money." It rattles my sense of justice.

Would it be helpful if the PM - or some other government spokesperson - were to 'remind' the press about the Crown Estates? Perhaps some of the MPs should have a remedial lesson too, just prior to debates on tax monies going toward repaying Her Majesty the millions she's recently spent on repairs to Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace (which are state-owned) and upping the Civil List.

Whew ... it feels good to vent on this to people who understand what I'm saying! I've tried to explain this to relatives and close friends and they get the glassy-eyed look.