Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Queen agrees to cut in royal spending

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, today announced the Comprehensive Spending Review.   How the Queen and the Royal Family are funded will change after the Diamond Jubilee.   Queen Elizabeth II has agreed to cut total Royal Household spending by 14% in 2012/2013.  Starting in 2014, the monarchy will be receive a "new sovereign support grant linked to a portion of the revenue of the Crown Estate," according to the Daily Telegraph.     However, £1 million will be made available for the Diamond Jubilee in 2012.
The Queen has responded to government pressure to cut the cost of the Royal Family, and she herself "is understood to have been keen to be less ostentatious at a time of general austerity."
Earlier this month, the palace announced that the Queen canceled the staff Christmas party, which would have cost £50,000.
The £7.9 million Civil List has already been frozen for 20 years. 

The Prince of Wales remains largely unaffected by this because his official duties are funded by the Duchy of Cornwall.   He pays income tax on the profits from the duchy.  
The members of the Royal Family on the civil list are the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh,  Duke of York, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, the Princess Royal, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke and Duchess of Kent and Princess Alexandra. 
This will change in the next decade.  The Duke and Duchess of Kent and Princess Alexandra are all in their 70s.    The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester are in their 60s.  Their royal duties will not be inherited by their children. 
The same can be said for the children of the Princess Royal and the Earl and Countess of Wessex.   This leaves the children of the Prince of Wales and the Duke of York.  It seems likely that Princes William and Harry will continue to be funded by the duchy of Cornwall until Charless succeeds to the throne.  
I expect to see police protection listed for the Gloucesters and Kents except when they are carrying out official engagements.   Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie will lose their 24-hour protection.  
Overall, the monarchy will lose about £6 million a year in funding.   This may not be too much of a problem due to the aforementioned attrition within the size of the royal family.

Now, about that much talked about wedding between the second in line to the throne and his longtime girlfriend ... it won't be a state occasion.  Too costly.   Even if the couple want to marry at Westminster Abbey, they may be advised to have the wedding at St. George's Chapel. Windsor.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/spending-review/8075857/Spending-Review-2010-The-Queen-agrees-to-cut-total-Royal-Household-spending.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/theroyalfamily/8076454/Queen-faces-6m-spending-cut-as-Civil-List-is-abolished.html

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