Despite recent reports to the contrary, it seems the Queen’s finances are in better shape than they have been in the last 30 years. According to a report in Friday's Times, based on exclusive access to confidential royal accounts, the monarch's financial situation is especially healthy.
"Talks of crisis is pure unadulterated fiction," a Buckingham Palace source was reported as saying. "The Queen is not running out of money. Her funds are in good shape. Very good shape." So much so that the monarch will not need to reply on taxpayer’s money to supplement her Civil List allowance of £7.9 million.
Helping maintain things in the black are the income from the Queen's private estates and a reduction in expenses following a rigorous programme of royal belt tightening.
Earlier reports had claimed that the Queen's fortunes were dwindling as as result of having to pay income tax, the cost of supporting members of the Royal Family and cutbacks in state aid. Last year she allegedly had to resort to spending £15 million more of her personal fortune than she had expected.
According to a senior official at Buckingham Palace, however, a 75 per cent drop in Palace costs have helped put current Civil List reserves at a record £35.3 million. Meanwhile, the Queen's private income from the Duchy of Lancaster, which has helped fund British monarchs since 1399 and is her most important source of funding, also rose by £1.5 million last year.
This income can be used to pay for the upkeep of her sole private residences - Scotland's Balmoral Castle and Sandringham Estate in Norfolk. Unlike Balmoral, which is a drain on the royal purse, Sandringham earns healthy profits supplying peas to frozen foods giant Bird's Eye and blackcurrant to Ribena. “It's a good and well-managed estate. It is a net contributor to the Queen´s funds," said an official source.
Programmes have also been introduced to increase the income from Balmoral, including an online shopping service selling branded items such as venison, glassware, biscuits, china and household utensils. It is hoped the royal cyber store will generate upwards of £150,000 pounds a year.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
