While it is often understood that members of a royal family receive their money from the taxpayers of the country they rule, most people are unaware of other sources of royal income. This is the case of the crown of England, commanded by the RQueen Elizabeth IIwho died at the age of 96, there are things that are known, but another that is not so much and that will be the main focus that the royal family will discuss.
From properties to stamps and inheritances, there are many sources of wealth for members of the crown. In 2022, Queen Elizabeth II was estimated to have a personal fortune of 365 million pounds (nearly $420 million). According to the Sunday Times Rich List, this figure is £15m larger than her 2020 earnings and includes the sovereign grant and her personal income. Over the years, Isabel has dropped as many as 30 places on the media’s annual rich list. In 2020, he was ranked 372nd, which is a drop of 30 places from 2018. As for the monarchy as a whole, Forbes magazine estimates his total net worth to be 72.5 billion pounds (approximately $83 billion). .
Queen Elizabeth II got her money from three sources: the annual payment of the Sovereign Grant, the Privy Purse and your personal estate and inheritance. The first is a figure that you receive annually from the government, while the second two sources are independent wealth that is not financed by taxpayers.
Some people mistakenly believe that the queen makes her money through visitor admission fees to royal properties like Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and the Tower of London, to name a few. But this is not true. Instead, these revenues are used to fund the Royal Collection, which consists of works of art in trust from the queen to be passed on to her successors: Prince Charles, William, etc. This is the same case with the Crown Jewels: the queen does not specifically own them nor can she sell them, they are just property belonging to the reigning monarch of the time.
The Sovereign Grant Law has been in force since 2012. It is basically a lump sum given to the queen to support her official duties and keep the Royal Palaces occupied, such as Kensington Palace and Windsor Castle. This grant includes a 10-year enhancement fund for Buckingham Palace. Plus, it covers the cost of official events like garden parties, investitures, and royal trips. The amount the queen receives in Sovereign Grant from her is 15 per cent of the profits made each year by the Crown Estate. This is a huge real estate estate across the UK that is worth £8.1 billion. It once belonged to the monarchy, but is now owned by the public treasury.
In 2020/21, the Sovereign Grant awarded to the Queen amounted to £85.9m. This equates to approximately £1.29 per taxpayer. The Official website of the Royal Family they have to publish financial reports each year explaining how this money is spent: The £85.9m is made up of a £51.5m core grant that funds official travel, property maintenance and operating costs of the queen’s household, and an additional amount dedicated to the reserve of 34.4 million pounds. The basic grant is equivalent to 77 pence per person in the UK
The “purse” of the queen.
The queen’s ‘private purse’ is the private income she receives from the Duchy of Lancaster. It is essentially a portfolio of land, property and other assets that have been held in trust for the Sovereign since 1399. “At the end of March 2021, the Duchy of Lancaster had £577.3 million of net assets under its control, generating a net surplus of £22.3 million,” says a statement in the Duchy of Lancaster website.
Therefore, this figure of £22.3 million is what Her Majesty received last year.
The Duchy is a separate entity from the Crown Estates that make up the Sovereign Grant. It is a completely independent source of income. Also, the annual sum a queen receives is taxable, so it will be a bit less.
According to the Royal Family website, the Duchy is “mainly used to pay official expenses not covered by the Sovereign Grant (mainly to cover expenses incurred by other members of the Royal Family).”
The queen also has her own personal income which is based on inheritance and money from her private estates. For example, Her Majesty owns Balmoral and Sandringham Estates, both inherited from her father. She then she is Prince Philip’s £10m estate. This was left to her after her death in April of last year.
The Times reports that part of Prince Philip’s estate includes “a large collection of paintings by Edward Seago and 3,000 books.” And no doubt, these will be worth a pretty penny too. The Queen Mother also left Elizabeth an estimated £70 million fortune when she passed away in 2002.
Yet to this day, Queen Elizabeth II remains the richest member of the British royal family.
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