Unlike her father-in-law, Prince Philip, Queen Camilla does not receive her own government income. Parliament paid Queen Elizabeth II’s husband £359,000 a year (currently €420,000), according to a report by Britain’s Court of Auditors released on Friday. “Queen Camilla will not receive a separate annual income,” it said. Their activities would be financed from the so-called Sovereign Grant, the state pot for the tasks of the Royals.
Prince Philip, who died in April 2021 at the age of 99, was named in a royal family funding bill. Therefore, a new law would be necessary for Camilla.
Royals under Charles III. more active again
The Court of Auditors expects spending on the monarchy to continue to rise. Queen Elizabeth, who died in September 2022, had greatly reduced her program in recent years due to physical ailments and the pandemic. Under her son King Charles III. Are the Royals more active again? “It can be expected that the King will host more events and travel to more engagements in the UK and abroad at the request of the Government,” the report said. These changes could impact expenses, but would be covered by the grant’s available funds.
Most recently, the palace itself announced that spending in the 2022/23 financial year rose for the second year in a row – by 5 percent to £107.5 million. Royal advisors blamed the change of throne after the death of the Queen as well as inflation and the ongoing costs for the years of renovation of Buckingham Palace.
Plans for visitor center canceled
In the course of a ten-year program in the London City Palace, among other things, cabling as well as sanitary and heating systems are being modernized. A total of £185.1m has been requested since 2017, according to the Court of Auditors. It is not expected to exceed the estimated total cost of £369m. However, plans for an external visitor center have been cancelled.
The so-called Sovereign Grant is currently £86.3 million. The difference to the royal expenses was financed with reserves. The calculation of the Sovereign Grant is to be reviewed before the end of this year. It was heard from the palace that it was about a “reasonable adjustment”.
Currently, the share is 25 percent of the income of the property manager Crown Estate, which owns large estates and valuable real estate in London, for example, but also the seabed in the British twelve-mile zone. From a deal in which German companies also secured land for the construction of offshore wind farms for option fees, an additional one billion pounds will flow to the Crown Estate in the future. If the Sovereign Grant were calculated as before, the crown would receive 250 million. However, Charles immediately ruled out an increase in the Sovereign Grant.