Which Members of the UK Royal Family Receive Public Funding?
Finances of the Royal Family
Sources of funding:-
There are three sources of funding for The Queen, or officials of the Royal Household acting on Her Majesty’s behalf, in both a public and private capacity. These are: the Sovereign Grant, the Privy Purse and The Queen’s personal wealth and income.
The Sovereign Grant
This is the amount of money provided by Government to the Royal Household in support of The Queen’s official duties, including the maintenance of the Occupied Royal Palaces: Buckingham Palace, St James’s Palace, Clarence House, Marlborough House Mews, the residential and office areas of Kensington Palace, Windsor Castle and the buildings in the Home and Great Parks at Windsor, and Hampton Court Mews and Paddocks.
The Sovereign Grant is provided by HM Treasury and consolidates the funding previously provided through the Civil List and the Property Services, Communications and Information and Royal Travel Grants-in-aid. HM Treasury is responsible for monitoring the application of the Sovereign Grant in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding between HM Treasury and the Royal Household.
The first Annual Report covering the new arrangements under the Sovereign Grant was for the year to 31 March 2013 and was published in June 2013. The most recent Annual Report can be found on the Royal Family website. Link below.
Privy Purse and Duchy of Lancaster This is a historical term used to describe income from the Duchy of Lancaster, which is used to meet both official and private expenditure by The Queen.
The Duchy of Lancaster is a portfolio of land, property and assets held in trust for the Sovereign in his/her role as Sovereign. It is administered separately from the Crown Estates.
Its main purpose is to provide an independent source of income, and is used mainly to pay for official expenditure not met by the Sovereign Grant (primarily to meet expenses incurred by other members of the Royal Family).
The Queen’s personal income, derived from her personal investment portfolio and private estates, is used to meet her private expenses.
The Queen owns the Balmoral and Sandringham Estates, which were both inherited from her father.
Estimates of The Queen’s wealth often mistakenly include items which are held by her as Sovereign on behalf of the nation and are not her private property. These include the official Royal residences, the majority of art treasures from the Royal Collection and the Crown Jewels. The Queen cannot sell these – they must pass to her successor as Sovereign.
How the finances are used
The various official sources of funding detailed in this section are used entirely to support The Queen’s work as Head of State.
This means that the money goes towards a number of resources which enable Her Majesty to carry out her official duties. These include: Royal travel for official engagements in the UK and overseas; the maintenance of Royal residencies which are used for formal entertaining and ceremonial events; funding for the work of The Duke of Edinburgh which supports and complements that of The Queen and salaries for employees of the Royal Household who support and administrate the work of Her Majesty as Head of State.
Financial arrangements of The Prince of Wales
The Prince of Wales’s life and work are funded predominantly by the Duchy of Cornwall. The Prince of Wales does not receive money from the Sovereign Grant, but it is used, in part, to support His Royal Highness’s official activities.
The Duchy of Cornwall is one of the largest and oldest estates in Britain. It includes around 54,521 hectares in 23 counties, mostly in the South West of England.
The Duchy estate was created in 1337 by Edward III for his son and heir, Prince Edward, and its primary function was to provide him and future Princes of Wales with an income from its assets. The Prince became the 24th Duke of Cornwall on The Queen’s accession in 1952.
It was traditional for many centuries for families with landed estates to settle the land and other assets in trust, so that each generation could live off the income but was unable to sell the assets.
This was done to ensure that the estate, and the income which it provided, survived from generation to generation. The same principle was applied to the Duchy of Cornwall.
Under the 1337 charter, as confirmed by subsequent legislation, The Prince of Wales does not own the Duchy’s capital assets, and is not entitled to the proceeds or profit on their sale, and only receives the annual income which they generate (which is voluntarily subject to income tax).
The Duchy’s founding charter included the gift of estates spread throughout England. It also stated that the Duchy should be in the stewardship of the Heir Apparent, to provide the Heir with an income independent of the Sovereign or the State.
After 670 years, the Duchy’s land holdings have become more diversified, but the Duchy is still predominantly an agricultural estate.
Because of the importance of the beneficiary, the Duchy’s ‘trust provisions’ have over the years, been set out in legislation, with the financial security of the Duchy overseen by HM Treasury.
His Royal Highness receives the annual net surplus of the Duchy of Cornwall and chooses to use a large proportion of the income to meet the cost of his public and charitable work.
The Prince also uses part of the income to meet the costs of his private life and those of his wife, The Duchess of Cornwall, and his sons, Prince William and Prince Harry.
The Duchy is tax exempt, but The Prince of Wales voluntarily pays income tax at the highest rate on his taxable income from it.
He is in effect a trustee, and is not entitled to the proceeds of disposals of assets. The Prince must pass on the estate intact, so that it continues to provide an income from its assets for future Dukes of Cornwall.
The landed estate includes agricultural, commercial and residential property. The Duchy also has a financial investment portfolio. It is run on a commercial basis, as prescribed by the parliamentary legislation which governs its activities.
Taxation
The Queen pays tax.
In 1992, The Queen volunteered to pay income tax and capital gains tax, and since 1993 her personal income has been taxable as for any other taxpayer.
The Queen has always been subject to Value Added Tax and pays local rates on a voluntary basis.
The Crown Estate
The Crown Estate as a whole dates back from the time of the Norman Conquest.
In 1760, George III reached an agreement with the Government over the Estate. The Crown Lands would be managed on behalf of the Government and the surplus revenue would go to the Treasury. In return, the King would receive a fixed annual payment, which was called the Civil List. With effect from 1 April 2012, the Civil List was incorporated into a new system of funding referred to as the Sovereign Grant.
The Crown Estate is not the personal property of the Monarch. It cannot be sold by the Monarch, nor do any profits from it go to the Sovereign.
The Crown Estate is managed by an independent organisation, headed by a Board, and any profit from the Estate is paid every year to the Treasury for the benefit of all UK taxpayers. The Treasury is effectively the principle Government stakeholder and is kept informed of the estate’s overall business plans and strategies.
The Estates portfolio has a value of over £7.3 billion, from beef farms in the north of Scotland to Portland stone mining in Dorset. Windsor Great Park is the only Royal Park managed by the Crown Estate. All other parks are administered by the Royal Parks Agency.
Civil List and Grant-in-Aid
On 1 April 2012 the arrangements for the funding of The Queen’s Official Duties changed. The new system of funding, referred to as the ‘Sovereign Grant’, replaced the Civil List and the three Grants-in-Aid (for Royal Travel, Communications and Information, and the Maintenance of the Royal Palaces) with a single, consolidated annual grant.
The Sovereign Grant is designed to be a more permanent arrangement than the old Civil List system, which was reign-specific.
The Civil List
Up until 31 March 2012, the Civil List was the amount of money provided by the Government to meet the official expenses of The Queen’s Household, so that The Queen could carry out her role as Head of State and Head of the Commonwealth.
The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh were – and remain still – the only members of the Royal Family to receive an annual parliamentary allowance.
In 1760, George III reached an agreement with the Government over the Crown Estate. The Crown Lands would be managed on behalf of the Government and the surplus revenue would go to the Treasury. In return, the King would receive a fixed annual payment, which until 31 March 2012 was called the Civil List.
About 70 per cent of the Civil List expenditure went on staff salaries. It also contributed towards meeting the costs of official functions such as garden parties, receptions and official entertainment during State Visits. The Queen entertains almost 50,000 people each year.
The Royal Household strives to be open and transparent, and details of expenditure are published in an Annual Summary and Annual Report.
On 2 July 2012 the final report by the Royal Trustees on Civil List expenditure and funding was released.
From 1 April 2012 the funding provided under the Civil List arrangements was consolidated within the Sovereign Grant.
Grant-in-Aid
Each year the Royal Family carries out almost 3,000 official engagements around the United Kingdom and overseas.
Up until 31 March 2012, the Royal Household received annual funding to meet the costs of official travel through the Department for Transport. The majority of Royal Travel expenditure pays for The Queen’s helicopter and charter and scheduled fix-wing aircraft.
Up until 31 March 2012, a separate grant was voted by Parliament each year, through the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, to cover the upkeep of the Royal residencies. These are: Buckingham Palace, St James’s Palace, Clarence House, Marlborough House Mews, the residential and office areas of Kensington Palace, Windsor Castle and the buildings in the Home and Great Parks at Windsor, and Hampton Court Mews and Paddocks. The money was used to meet the cost of maintenance and some utilities.
From 1 April 2012 the Grant-in-Aid provided through the Department for Transport and Department for Culture, Media and Sport was consolidated within the Sovereign Grant provided through HM Treasury.
2018-19
In 2018-19, the Sovereign Grant also included a dedicated amount to fund the Reservicing of Buckingham Palace; the second year of a major ten-year project to future proof the building’s essential services. This followed a report to HM Treasury identifying that the building’s infrastructure was in urgent need of an overhaul to avoid the very real danger of catastrophic failure.
Key Reservicing progress in 2018-19 included:
- Members of the Royal Family and all staff moving out of the East Wing, along with the decant of over 3,000 works of art, leaving this area of the building unoccupied – in preparation for reservicing, which will include the replacement of electrical and mechanical infrastructure, and the provision of new lifts to improve accessibility.
- The building of a compound for contractors working on the Reservicing project on the Palace forecourt.
- The strip-out of the Palace’s main boiler room to prepare for the installation of the new energy centre.
- Conversion of space on the upper floor of the West Wing to a new open plan office space for approximately 100 people.
- Authorised or contracted commitments for works over the next five years amounting to £85m.
The key financial details reported (2019-20):
▪ The total Sovereign Grant for 2019-20, including the dedicated amount for Reservicing, amounted to £82.4m (2018-19: £82.2m), equivalent to £1.23 per person in the UK.
▪ The £82.4m is made up of a core grant of £49.4m which funds official travel, property maintenance and the operating costs of The Queen’s household, and an additional dedicated amount for Reservicing of £33m. The core grant equates to 74p per person in the UK.
▪ Income supplementing the Sovereign Grant increased to £20.2m from £17.8m (2018-19). [at a guess i think that could be the £2.4m from the Sussexes for renovation costs on a property that they did not own, and for which the Sovereign Grant is there to cover on all Crown estate buildings.]
▪ The official expenditure in the year met by the Sovereign Grant was £69.4million (2018-19: £67m), including £21.2m on the Reservicing of Buckingham Palace.
▪ £13m was transferred to the Sovereign Grant reserve (2018-19: £15.2m) principally to fund the Reservicing of Buckingham Palace.
Other highlights of the 2019-20 report include:
▪ Members of the Royal Family undertook almost 3,200 official engagements across the UK and overseas, with The Queen undertaking 296 official engagements.
▪ Over 139,000 guests were welcomed by The Queen and Members of the Royal Family at the Royal Residences for events such as garden parties and investitures.
▪ The Reservicing Programme continued at Buckingham Palace, with the majority of the critical works now completed, including the replacement of key infrastructure such as boilers and generators, and the removal of all known Vulcanised Indian Rubber cabling across the Palace.
▪ Major building work is underway on the East Wing, which is fully decanted and now operating as a construction site. New lifts are being installed to improve accessibility, and essential services are being replaced. The reservicing of the West Wing is also imminent.
▪ Work is also underway on a new accessible ramp at the front of the building to provide dedicated step-free access into the Palace.
Reflecting on the year 2019-20, the Keeper of the Privy Purse, Sir Michael Stevens, said:
The majority of the year under review took place before the impact of Covid-19 set in, with the Royal Family undertaking a range of significant visits to communities in the UK and overseas. The Queen hosted the President and First Lady of the United States of America on a State Visit and led the country in national moments of remembrance such as the 75th anniversary of D-Day and Armistice Day.
Although Covid-19 has temporarily changed the format of engagements and events, it has not changed the sense of continuity, reassurance and recognition they provide. Her Majesty’s programme, supported by Her family, will continue to develop meaningful ways to lead the nation through this time.
2020-21
The key financial details reported today are:
- The total Sovereign Grant for 2020-21, including the dedicated amount for Reservicing, amounted to £85.9m (2019-20: £82.4m), equivalent to £1.29 per person in the UK.
- The £85.9m is made up of a core grant of £51.5m which funds official travel, property maintenance and the operating costs of The Queen’s household, and an additional dedicated amount for Reservicing of £34.4m. The core grant equates to 77p per person in the UK.
- Income supplementing the Sovereign Grant fell 53% to £9.4m from £20.2m (2019-20) largely reflecting the impact of Covid-19 on the ability of Royal Collection Trust to open the Royal Palaces for visitors.
- Official expenditure was more than the Sovereign Grant and the supplementary income earned, with total net expenditure of £87.5 million, a 26% increase on the previous year. This was driven by significant increase in spending, £17.6m (an increase of 83%), on the Reservicing of Buckingham Palace.
- £2.3m was drawn down from the Sovereign Grant reserve (2019-20 a surplus of £3.3m was transferred to the Sovereign Grant Reserve) principally to pay for work relating to the Reservicing of Buckingham Palace.
Other details in the 2020-21 report include:
- The unprecedented changes and challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic led to the development of new and innovative ways for The Queen, supported by members of the Royal Family, to lead the nation. Almost 1,470 official engagements were undertaken across the United Kingdom and overseas.
- The Reservicing Programme continued at Buckingham Palace, with the handover of the High Priority Works Programme (subject to certain commissioning works) which included upgrading many of the main services such as installing new water tanks, a new energy centre and standby power generation.
- The completion of the privy purse door ramp at the front of Buckingham Palace as part of the improvements to step-free access.
- With Buckingham Palace largely empty due to Covid-19 the Picture Gallery roof replacement works were brought forward and work started.
- The East Wing reservicing continues with work on two new lifts starting.
- The Report includes a £2.4m payment from The Duke and Duchess of Sussex to reimburse the Sovereign Grant for expenditure incurred on the refurbishment of Frogmore Cottage, most of which was recognised as income in the year.
Reflecting on the year 2020-21, the Keeper of the Privy Purse, Sir Michael Stevens, said:
“The majority of the year was impacted by the precautions necessary as the impact of Covid-19 set in. Plans had to change and Her Majesty’s programme, supported by Her family, had to react. The Royal Family embraced new technology with a virtual meeting with The Princess Royal and the Carers Trust being the first virtual engagement undertaken by Her Majesty. More virtual engagements followed as well as a small number of physical engagements and two addresses to the Nation and the knighting of Captain Sir Tom Moore in the quadrangle at Windsor Castle.”
Commenting on the financial challenges from the effect of the pandemic, Sir Michael Stevens said: “In responding to these challenges, we have no intention of asking for extra funding but will look to manage the impact through our own efforts and efficiencies”.
The Sovereign Grant is funded by profits from the Crown Estate – a multibillion-pound property portfolio that ranges from London’s Regent Street to Ascot Racecourse.
The estate is managed by an independent organisation, with any profit paid to the Treasury for the benefit of all UK taxpayers.
Republic, a campaign group calling for the abolition of the monarchy, said the Sovereign Grant was “madness” and should be scrapped.
The group’s chief executive, Graham Smith, said: “A 15% increase in travel costs when hospitals can’t deliver the very best care to every person in need, when teachers are struggling to pay for the necessary books and equipment and the police are stretched to breaking point is scandalous.”
Separate accounts published last week show the Crown Estate had a £345m profit for the Treasury for the last financial year but there were concerns about the future financial impact of Covid-19.
The Royal Collection Trust pays fees, in relation to running the opening of royal residences such as Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, to supplement the Sovereign Grant. But closures due to the lockdown are likely to cause its income to fall by tens of millions.
The Royals Who Do Not Receive “Public” Funding]
Princess Royal, (Anne):- Her residence, Gatcombe Park, is privately owned and the Princess Royal runs the estate as a working farm, and as a venue for equestrian eventing.
This means that she does not receive income form the Sovereign Grant for its upkeep, unlike other royal residences.
Although the princess has attracted criticism in the past for her stated desire to live as a private citizen, nevertheless her decision to finance her estate privately has meant she has been able to enjoy more freedom in her private life.
Her children, Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips, are not working royals and do not have any royal titles, either.
Anne’s children meet their own expenses from their careers – Peter owns a sports management company, and Zara is a professional sportswoman
NB The Queen pays the expenses of her other children Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, and Prince Edward ; Prince Charles receives funding from a separate account. All of the Queen’s grandchildren live in Royal residences, and I have yet to hear if any of them have ever been charged for renovation costs, or rent, and if rent is paid (I found a recent case where at least one couple pay a nominal rent now,) but for the majority of the years that they resided in a particular property no rent was paid previously.
Both have been successful in contracts which utilised their linkage to the Monarch. No one in the media appears to have an issue with that, or the assistance from various funds to live where they live. Only one couple has been hounded on activities and protocols that exist for no one else in the Royal Family line up. So many reasons why I am glad they left this circus.
Prince Andrew’s children Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie are not working royals either, and were taken off the Sovereign Grant list when they graduated university in 2011 and 2012 respectively. What payments were made from the Sovereign Grant before Graduation? Were payments made for all education or just university years?
However, unlike Anne, Andrew was reportedly unhappy with the decision.
Writing in Vanity Fair in 2011, renowned American author and journalist Edward Klein spoke to royal expert Robert Jobson.
Mr Jobson said: “Andrew has made a tremendous effort to keep Beatrice and Eugenie close to the Queen in order to assure their future as fully paid-up members of the Firm, as the Royal Family is called.
“But if Charles has his way, the girls will be thrown off the royal payroll and have to fend for themselves.” Harry and Meghan are fending for themselves, and there is still an issue with that it seems. Could it be that it highlights all these other people, who do either no Royal duties or next to nothing in terms of Royal duties, but who are doing very well without actually earning a living which would allow them to live where they live.
Added to this, Andrew’s written request to the Queen in 2016 that the princesses should be reinstated to the Sovereign Grant was turned down by Her Majesty.
When Harry and Meghan wed in May 2018 televised spectacular, all the splendor of the Windsor family was on parade: a fairytale castle, a horse-drawn Ascot Landau, a palatial Rolls-Royce Phantom, and a trove of jewelry. Six months later, after the news came that they were expecting their first child, it was announced that they would soon move into a new home on the Windsor estate—a 10-room 19th-century residence called Frogmore Cottage—”given to them by the queen”.
A happy couple set for life? That depends on your definition of set. As sixth in line to the throne, Harry is certainly well rewarded. He is among the (I will come back to this phrase and similar later on in this article) of “working royals” who earn an allowance for performing official duties. Harry received some $3 million last year for visiting charities and army units and serving as a goodwill ambassador.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leaving Windsor Castle for their wedding reception.
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That amount was supplemented by income from the $11 million or so he inherited from his mother, Princess Diana, and a few million bequeathed by his great-grandmother, the Queen Mother. And Meghan, now retired from her $50,000-an-episode role on the TV
Guessing how much Queen Elizabeth is worth has long been an English national pastime, but because so much of her wealth is tied up in unique trusts and almost unpriceable art treasures, it is hard to pin down an exact number. Last year the Sunday Times estimated it at around $500 million, making her just 344th on the Rich List of Britain’s wealthiest people.
Senior members of the British Royal family pose at Buckingham Palace.
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She was only 10th among titled landowners. Both the Queen and Prince Charles possess large semiprivate ancestral landholdings that serve as wellsprings of their wealth. Charles’s Duchy of Cornwall, a portfolio of properties concentrated in southwest England, provides him with some $25 million a year, around $7 million of which goes to William and Harry for performing their royal duties.
The Queen’s Duchy of Lancaster properties, mainly in the northwest, earn another $25 million or so, which she uses to pay for her own private needs, like running Balmoral and her horse racing ventures.
The Queen also bankrolls several family members, including her children Andrew, Anne, and Edward, as well as the Dukes of Gloucester and Kent, who, like William and Harry, are official working royals. Until recent times these family members were funded by the taxpayer. But in response to criticism of their featherbedded existences (in the ’70s one Labour MP famously called Princess Margaret “this expensive kept woman”), in 1992 the queen agreed to pay most of their expenses out of her own pocket.
AS WORKING ROYALS, THE QUEEN’S CHILDREN, PRINCE Andrew (far left), Prince Edward, AND Princess Anne (with her husband Timothy Laurence) ARE PAID personally BY THE QUEEN.
The current system of allowances has been relatively stable in recent years, but those dependent on royal financial support—and those hoping to get some—will have to pray for continued generosity from Prince Charles when he becomes monarch. He has already hinted at a desire to have just half a dozen working royals, a setup that would inevitably disadvantage relatives further down the line of succession.
Those in jeopardy include Harry’s and William’s cousins the Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie daughters of Prince Andrew (the Queen’s middle son and seventh in line) and Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, benefit from a trust fund bequeathed by their great-grandmother, but because they currently perform no official royal duties they receive no public money.
The Queen’s granddaughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, are considered non-working royals and therefore do not receive any public money.
A few years ago it was widely reported that they were seeking formal roles; their father, according to one palace insider, was lobbying for them to receive allowances and public money. The issue turned into a public row, and Prince Andrew took the unusual step of issuing a blunt statement clarifying that his wish was simply for his daughters to be “modern, working young women.”
Both sisters hold regular jobs, which is probably for the best, as their chances of joining the ranks of working royals look slim. Even if Charles opts to keep the status quo, his rapidly growing crew of grandchildren will require housing, security, and education. So, even though Harry and Meghan having a new baby initially has no immediate impact on allowances, it does mean that there will ultimately be one more royal competing for attention and access to the family coffers.
Another part of the Windsor household has seen its stock fall in a more literal manner. The Queen’s first cousins Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent (36th in line), and his younger brother, Prince Michael of Kent (47th in line), have long been regarded as the poor relations of the family. After their father, Prince George, died in action during World War II, their mother received no public funding, and both brothers initially earned a living in the army, which did little to bolster their financial fortunes. But there were still bills to pay and appearances to keep up, and this could be done only with some private support from the Queen.
The queen’s first cousins Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent, and his younger brother, Prince Michael of Kent.
To keep the wolf from the door, the Kents have had to auction off furniture, jewellery, and other heirlooms, as well as dispose of their country estates. The Duke of Kent sold his Buckinghamshire manor house, Coppins, in 1974, after its hefty running costs proved prohibitive, and Prince Michael followed suit in 2006, parting with his Gloucestershire residence Nether Lypiatt. Both now live more modestly in apartments in the Kensington Palace complex, which has housed so many elderly royals it was dubbed the Aunt Heap.
Prince Michael has earned the unflattering sobriquet “Rent-a-Kent” for the way he is perceived to be cashing in on the royal name. His gaffe-prone wife, Princess Michael, has had an even rougher ride, gaining the nickname “Princess Pushy” for her brazen manner. She has developed a commercial sideline writing books about other royals, although by her own admission she isn’t immune to changes to the financial climate. While promoting her novel The Queen of Four Kingdoms in 2013, she confessed to the London Times that austerity had forced her to fly tourist class: “We’ve cut back dramatically. I mean, we never go out to dinner unless we go to somebody’s house. We never go to restaurants. That’s too extravagant.”
Princess Michael of Kent and her children pose in front of their former family home, Nether Lypiatt, of which they sold in 2006.
Differences in royal family fortunes were on display at the 2018 nuptials of Prince Harry (6th in line to the throne, left) and Princess Eugenie (9th).
The latest financial worry for the couple is the price of renovations to Frogmore Cottage, expenses that the Daily Mail griped would be “hidden from taxpayers.” The Daily Mirror also quoted a former royal guard warning about the extra expenditure on policing: “The costs of building and security arrangements could balloon to $6.5 million in the first year.”
Indeed, the permit application for renovating the landmarked building was kept private for security reasons, but a Kensington Palace spokesman said that only major structural work would be paid for with money from the Sovereign Grant, and that any decorating expenses would be footed by Harry and Meghan. Yet as we all know, the Sussexes had to pay all the renovation costs, for a property that they did not own, and for which the Sovereign Grant had funds allocated for such a purpose , the same as all the other residences of those living in Crown properties.
This story appears in the March 2019 issue of Town & Country.
The top 23 in the Line of Succession: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23272491
Line of succession
1. The Prince of Wales
Born: 1948
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The Prince of Wales is the Queen’s eldest son and first in line to the throne.
On 29 July 1981 he married Lady Diana Spencer, who became the Princess of Wales. The couple had two sons, William and Harry. They later separated and their marriage was dissolved in 1996. On 31 August 1997, the princess was killed in a car crash in Paris.
Prince Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles on 9 April 2005. As heir to the throne, his main duties are to support the Queen in her royal commitments.
2. Prince William, Duke of Cambridge
Born: 1982
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Prince William is the elder son of the Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales, and is second in line to the throne.
The duke was 15 when his mother died. He went on to study at St Andrews University, where he met his future wife, Kate Middleton. The couple were married in 2011.
On his 21st birthday he was appointed a Counsellor of State – standing in for the Queen on official occasions. He and his wife had their first child, George, in July 2013, their second, Charlotte, in 2015 and third, Louis, in 2018.
The prince trained with the Army, Royal Navy and RAF before spending three years as an RAF search-and-rescue pilot with RAF Valley on Anglesey, north Wales. He also worked part-time for two years as a co-pilot with the East Anglian Air Ambulance alongside his royal duties. He left the role in July 2017 to take on more royal duties on behalf of the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh.
3. Prince George of Cambridge
Born: 2013
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Prince George of Cambridge was born on 22 July 2013 at St Mary’s Hospital in London. Prince William was present for the birth of his son, who weighed 8lb 6oz (3.8kg). He started primary school in September 2017.
Prince George is third in line to the throne, after his father and grandfather.
4. Princess Charlotte of Cambridge
Born: 2015
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The Duchess of Cambridge gave birth to her second child, a girl on 2 May 2015, again at St Mary’s Hospital. The Duke of Cambridge was present for the birth of the 8lb 3oz (3.7kg) baby. The duke and duchess named her Charlotte Elizabeth Diana.
She is fourth in line to the throne and is known as Her Royal Highness Princess Charlotte of Cambridge.
5. Prince Louis of Cambridge
Born: 2018
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The Duchess of Cambridge gave birth to her third child, a boy weighing 8lbs 7oz, on 23 April, 2018 at St Mary’s Hospital in London.
The Duke of Cambridge was present for the birth of Louis Arthur Charles.
6. Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex
Born: 1984
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Prince Harry trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and went on to become a lieutenant in the Army, serving as a helicopter pilot.
During his 10 years in the Armed Forces, Capt Wales, as he became known, saw active service in Afghanistan twice, in 2012 to 2013 as an Apache helicopter co-pilot and gunner. He left the Army in 2015 and now focuses on charitable work, including conservation in Africa and organising the Invictus Games for injured members of the armed forces.
He has been a Counsellor of State since his 21st birthday and stood in for the Queen on official duties.
He married US actress Meghan Markle on 19 May, 2018, at Windsor Castle. In January 2020, the royal couple said they would step back as “senior” royals and divide their time between the UK and North America. They said they intended to “work to become financially independent”.
Just over a year later, Buckingham Palace confirmed the couple would not be returning to royal duties, and would give up their honorary military appointments and royal patronages.
7. Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor
Born: 2019
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The Sussexes’ first child, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, was born on 6 May 2019, weighing 7lbs 3oz, with the duke present for his birth. By naming him as they did, the couple chose not to use a title for their first born.
When the name was announced, BBC royal correspondent Jonny Dymond said the decision was a strong indication the couple did not want to bring him up as a formal royal.
8. Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor
Born: 2021
The Duchess of Sussex gave birth to her second child in Santa Barbara, California. on 4 June 2021. Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor – to be known as Lili – is named after the Royal Family’s nickname for the Queen and is her 11th great-grandchild.
She was given the middle name Diana in honour of Prince Harry’s mother, who died in a car crash in 1997 when he was 12 years old.
9. The Duke of York
Born: 1960
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Prince Andrew, ninth in line to the throne, was the third child of the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh – but the first to be born to a reigning monarch for 103 years.
He was created the Duke of York on his marriage to Sarah Ferguson, who became Duchess of York, in 1986. They had two daughters – Beatrice, in 1988, and Eugenie, in 1990. In March 1992 it was announced the duke and duchess were to separate. They divorced in 1996.
The duke served for 22 years in the Royal Navy and saw active service in the Falklands War in 1982. In addition to royal engagements, he served as a special trade representative for the government until 2011.
Prince Andrew stepped away from royal duties in 2019 after an interview with the BBC about his relationship with US financier Jeffrey Epstein, who killed himself while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking and conspiracy charges.
The duke was heavily criticised for his friendship with Epstein, but he said he did not witness any suspicious behaviour during visits to the US financier’s home.
In a statement, announcing he was stepping back from public duties for the foreseeable future, the duke said he unequivocally regretted his “ill-judged association with Jeffrey Epstein”.
10. Princess Beatrice
Born: 1988
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES
Princess Beatrice is the elder daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York. Her full title is Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrice of York. She has no official surname, but uses the name York.
She married property tycoon Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi at The Royal Chapel of All Saints at Royal Lodge, Windsor, in July 2020. The couple had been due to marry in May, but coronavirus delayed the plans.
Princess Beatrice had a baby girl, Sienna Elizabeth, in September 2021, who becomes the 11th in line to the throne and is the Queen’s 12th great-grandchild. Princess Beatrice is also stepmother to Mr Mapelli Mozzi’s son Christopher Woolf, known as Wolfie, from his previous relationship with Dara Huang.
12. Princess Eugenie
Born: 1990
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES
Princess Eugenie is the younger daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York. Her full title is Her Royal Highness Princess Eugenie of York and she is 12th in line to the throne.
Like her sister Princess Beatrice, she has no official surname, but uses “York”. She married her long-term boyfriend Jack Brooksbank at Windsor Castle on 12 October 2018.
13. August Philip Hawke Brooksbank
Born: 2021
IMAGE SOURCE,PRINCESS EUGENIE
Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank’s son, August, born on 9 February 2021, is the Queen’s ninth great-grandchild.
14. The Earl of Wessex
Born: 1964
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES
Prince Edward was given the title Earl of Wessex and Viscount Severn on his marriage to Sophie Rhys-Jones in 1999. The couple have two children, Lady Louise, born in 2003 and James, Viscount Severn, born in 2007.
After a brief period with the Royal Marines, the prince formed his own TV production company. He now supports the Queen in her official duties and carries out public engagements for charities. The birth of Princess Beatrice’s daughter in September means he move down one place to become 14th in line to the throne.
15. James, Viscount Severn
Born: 2007
IMAGE SOURCE,PA
Viscount Severn is the younger child of the Earl and Countess of Wessex. The couple decided to give their children “courtesy” titles as sons or daughters of an Earl, rather than the style prince or princess. It is thought this decision was made to avoid some of the burdens of royal titles.
16. Lady Louise
Born: 2003
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES
Born in 2003, Lady Louise Windsor is the elder child of the Earl and Countess of Wessex.
17. The Princess Royal
Born: 1950
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES
Anne, Princess Royal is the Queen’s second child and only daughter. When she was born she was third in line to the throne, but is now 17th. She was given the title Princess Royal in June 1987.
Princess Anne has married twice; her first husband Captain Mark Phillips is the father of her two children, Peter and Zara, while her second is Vice-Admiral Timothy Laurence.
The princess was the first royal to use the surname Mountbatten-Windsor in an official document, in the marriage register after her wedding to Capt Phillips. She competed in equestrian events for Great Britain in the 1976 Montreal Olympics and is involved with a number of charities, including Save the Children, of which she has been president since 1970.
18. Peter Phillips
Born: 1977
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES
Peter Phillips is the eldest of the Queen’s grandchildren. He married Canadian Autumn Kelly in 2008 and together they have two daughters, Savannah, born in 2010, and Isla, born in 2012.
The children of the Princess Royal do not have royal titles, as they are descended from the female line. Mark Phillips refused the offer of an earldom when he married so their children do not have courtesy titles.
Peter Phillips and his wife announced they were getting divorced in February 2020.
19. Savannah Phillips
Born: 2010
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES
Savannah, born in 2010, is the elder daughter of Peter and Autumn Phillips and the Queen’s first great-grandchild.
20. Isla Phillips
Born: 2012
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES
Isla, born in 2012, is the second daughter of Peter and Autumn Phillips.
21. Zara Tindall
Born: 1981
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES
Zara Tindall followed her mother and father with a highly successful riding career – including winning a silver medal at the London 2012 Olympics. She married former England rugby player Mike Tindall in 2011 and the couple had their first child, Mia Grace, in 2014.
The children of the Princess Royal do not hold a royal title, as they are descended from the female line, but she remains 21st in line to the throne. Their father, Mark Phillips, turned down an earldom when he married Princess Anne, so they do not have courtesy titles.
22. Mia Grace Tindall
Born: 2014
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES
The Queen’s granddaughter Zara Tindall gave birth to her first child, Mia Grace, in January 2014.
23. Lena Elizabeth Tindall
Born: 2018
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES
The couple’s second child – the Queen’s seventh great-grandchild – was born on 18 June 2018 at Stroud Maternity Unit, Gloucestershire, weighing 9lb 3oz.
Lena Elizabeth was named in honour of her great-grandmother.
Like her sister, Lena Elizabeth does not have a royal title and so will also be known as Miss Tindall.
Summary of Sovereign Grant A/c 2018-2021 (images)
Conclusions
In my opinion, regardless of whether or not all the above people are paid from the Sovereign Grant, they receive funds from another pot, and none of those pots contain any of the family money. None of these people work in a way which gives them the level of income to live where they live, to drive the cars that they drive, and live the life that they all live, so that particular fantasy does not wash with me.
If you then add in those listed in the top 23 of the Line of Succession, it seems that they all receive funds in some way, including those classed as children until they leave University, if we take the information given for Beatrice and Eugenie. What exactly is being paid for these children under the age of 18 and what is paid for if they attend University? Their parents do not work, and on one hand the official line is they are not publicly funded. All the other funds quoted earlier, are not full of funds from previous Royal families. The funds come from the labour of those who live and work in the Duchy in question and the value of the property portfolio – none of which was originally funded by the Monarch anyway. In my mind that means public funds. I would much prefer that the fake story line that the UK citizens pay less than £2.00 towards the Sovereign Grant is the only contribution made by people who can ill afford to be paying out towards the costs of a family who are one of the wealthiest in the world.
I don’t understand why during a pandemic travel costs increased. I also do not understand the number of times “travelling between homes” took place. Pandemic mean lockdown, so why not just stay in one place? The volume of interaction with charities, in one way was probably an improvement on what most of those few luck charities to actually see a member of the Royal family in terms of actual conversation, but 99% of it was done via zoom or equivalent, so again travel costs seems way too high to me.
Visitor numbers were down, like every other business due to the pandemic, yet the Royal family did seek and receive financial assistance at least once during lockdown. I may be wrong, but I believe that some of the staff were laid off and received assistance via the furlough scheme, so in reality, the Monarchy did not suffer adversely in terms of wages for staff and in the accounts, the proportion of costs towards staff wages was small, indicating that their level of pay was not exactly high in the first place.
At least one member of the Royal family was gifted a new Bentley during the period the accounts were looked at for this article. The new vehicle was mentioned in the media during the funeral coverage of Prince Philip. Over £225,000 in costs. That particular member of the family is no longer classed as a working Royal, but retains all the privileges and funding of a working Royal, including security. Everything that was taken away from the Sussexes that individual has retained, plus a new vehicle costing that amount. It is offensive, not least with current legal proceedings ongoing.
Cost of Royal tours are quoted and show the Oceanic Tour that was undertaken by Harry and Meghan as being the highest. First of all, Harry and Meghan, like any other Royal are asked to go on these tours by the Foreign Office. So, Harry and Meghan did not just wake up one morning and ask to visit Australia et al, and it was a very successful tour for the UK, far more than any other taken in the last 3 years.
Costs in relation to The Cambridges and The Sussexes from Prince Charles Duchy very conveniently are lumped together as one figure. It is obvious that a family with 3 children will cost more than a couple. Also, a very important fact, Meghan was told that there was no funds available for her when she married into the family, so every tour and every Royal duty she undertook on behalf of the UK, she paid for her own expenses. Every item of clothing including the bespoke ones she had made by designers based in the areas/countries she visited, she paid for herself. All the usual services afforded to every other Royal (working or not) she did not have, so in my opinion, if we deducted what any other Royal would have been supplied with financially and in terms of entourage, in all of the tours she undertook with Harry, before the couple stepped back from Senior Working Royal roles, the figure quoted in the accounts would look very very different.
The Sovereign Grant does mention an increase in income, but it does not state specifically that it was the payment of £2.4m made by the Sussexes in terms of renovation costs of Frogmore Cottage. None of the people in the Line of Succession quoted above, pay for renovation of their properties. None. Even those who the media are happy to state that live in non Crown property, are bankrolled by the Queen anyway, and as I have stated, I am sure the funds are not from her private accounts, even though it is stated that she looks after all her adult children and their families privately. Privately does not mean that funds came from her personal accounts. There is a reason that all these adults and their children do not choose to live anywhere else with a mortgage. Even their children when they become adults, also stay in their Royal welfare housing. When couple divorce, they too just live in separate dwellings on Royal estates. If they pay rent at all, it is a peppercorn rent, otherwise they would not be living where they do, without high salaries from actual real jobs outside of the firm. One of those adults, lives in a 52 room house with his ex wife, and their adult children live elsewhere in Royal properties. The individual concerned is not a working Royal, but aas I said retains all working royal benefits.
Media however, still feel it necessary to refer to the size of the Sussexes home, and the cost of every item of clothing that Meghan wears. A property in which they own, and clothes that are paid for our of their own funds from working for a living. The double standards are glaring. If deductions were made for the funds that Meghan should have received as a senior working Royal like everyone else, the Sussexes would be owed a lot more than £2.4m.
I don’t consider the publishing of accounts from the British Royal Family as being anything but entertaining. The Queen and Prince Charles pay tax voluntarily. The Royal family are exempt from Freedom of Information requests, and any laws that they do not like, they lobby behind closed doors and secure exemption anyway. Equality laws do not apply to them, either, and there are others.
So after a quick foray through Royal accounts, I take it all with a pinch of salt. There are currently credible questions to be asked of certain members of the BRF about movement of funds between certain organisations, via certain charities, which then appear to have disappeared into the ether. Currently the organisation responsible for overseeing such financial transactions is investigating one of its own. It is not the first time such a question mark has appeared about money being paid by influential donors, who then appear to receive influential benefits afterwards. There is one such investigation underway at the moment, but I am not holding my breath for the outcome. I personally have no confidence about the content of any news that comes from this structure. I am not alone. It is just a matter of time before the ripple effects of activity in recent decades, start to come into the public domain.
I think that the clock is ticking for all the remaining Monarchies in the world right now. Most have disappeared and the remaining ones are on borrowed time. I firmly believe that the UK Monarchy will be in the earlier stage of those that disappear in the future. The BRF did not take heed of what was happening around them, and ignored the age profile and competence of the family members to be in a position to carry things forward. Many of the UK public like the idea of a figurehead family, but if that family start to erode the goodwill or reputation of the nation, then popularity will fall. It is already happening. One of the next scandals that will come into the public domain is the amount of public funds spent on employing people to influence opinions on anyone who is seen as a threat to the UK Monarchy. Recent reports by Bot Sentinel have been very revealing, and the fightback has been fierce. The number of people who are profiting from hate is astounding. The reports show it is a sophisticated operation behind it all, and not for the first time, the arrows are pointing at Palaces in the UK. A previous investigation a few years ago, revealed a similar set up in relation to another social media platform; an investigation carried out by a different organisation to this latest one. It is a matter of time, before more information comes to light, and it will not look good on the institution or its accounts in terms of this matter.
Ivy Barrow
Information from Sources stated throughout. Summarising here to accompany the podcast
20/11/21
Reference Source Material:–
https://www.royal.uk/sites/default/files/media/sovereign_grant_2018-19_summary_final.pdf
https://www.royal.uk/sites/default/files/media/final_sovereign_grant_for_website.pdf
https://www.royal.uk/royal-finances-0
https://www.royal.uk/sites/default/files/media/sovereign_grant_2019-20_summary.pdf
https://www.royal.uk/sites/default/files/media/sovereign_grant_report_2019-20.pdf
https://www.royal.uk/sites/default/files/sovereign_grant_report_2020-2021_-_summary.pdf
https://www.royal.uk/sites/default/files/media/sovereign_grant_report_2020-2021_0.pdf
A Must Read Book:-
“… And What Do You Do? – What the Royal Family Don’t Want You To Know” You wont be able to put this down. It is an easy read, and very informative. Not written by a Royal Reporter, and someone who sees the current Royal Family (as opposed to a Monarchy as a general construct) and its reducing relevance in a modern society. I purchased this book on audible, not least because it allows me to listen to many of my books, after I have spent hours typing up notes on my laptop. Highly recommend. Published in 2019.
A glossary of terms relating to Royal Finances.
Civil List – The amount of money, a fixed annual payment, provided by Parliament to meet the official expenses of The Queen’s Household; source of funding up until 31 March 2012.
Crown Estate – Land managed on behalf of the Government. It is not the personal property of the Monarch and her Majesty receives no monies from it.
Duchy of Cornwall – Portfolio of land, property and assets held in trust for The Prince of Wales as heir to the throne.
Duchy of Lancaster – Portfolio of land, property and assets held in trust for the Sovereign in his/her role as Sovereign.
Grant-in-Aid – Funds from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to meet maintenance of the official Royal Residencies cost and Communications and Information, and funds from the Department of Transport to meet Royal travel costs; source of funding up until 31 March 2012.
Keeper of the Privy Purse – Holds overall responsibility for the management of the Sovereign’s financial affairs.
Privy Purse – Private finances and estates of the Sovereign.
Sovereign Grant – Funds from HM Treasury in support of The Queen’s Official duties, including the maintenance of the Occupied Royal Palaces, which consolidates the funding provided prior to 1 April 2012 under the Civil List and Grants-in-Aid.