The Crown Estate, Sovereign's Grant, Duchy of Lancaster News

[Curryong]

A thread dedicated to The Crown Estate, Sovereign's Grant and the Duchy of Lancaster. All related to the funding for the monarch and the British Monarchy.
The Crown Estate
Our history | Our history

Sovereign Grant, Duchy of Lancaster information

https://www.royal.uk/royal-finances-0




This affects the Queen so I've put it in Elizabeth's threads rather than anywhere else. Hope that's all right.

Twitter

From the policy director of the DM

EXC: Treasury to spend millions propping up Queen?s income after her property loses money thanks to coronavirus
Image
Double post auto-merged: September 24, 2020, 04:48:57 AM

From a Town and Country article, quoting from a new book out this month, called The Queen's True Worth. Out on Amazon as well, so I have it in my sights!

The High Cost of Queen Elizabeth?s Country Homes
A new book delves into Her Majesty's finances. (And you thought your bills were high.)

BY DAVID MCCLURE
SEP 19, 2020
round trip through scotlandONEWORLD PICTUREGETTY IMAGES
Running a second home can be a drain on resources for anyone, but when you?re the Queen of England and your ?little place in the country? turns out to be the two sprawling estates of Balmoral (46,000 acres in Scotland) and Sandringham (20,000 acres in Norfolk, England), the figures can be frightening.

So, how does Her Majesty manage to balance the books and how much of her wealth is tied in her country homes? While researching a new book on her private fortune, I came up with some startling answers.


The Queen's True Worth: Unravelling the public & private finances of Queen Elizabeth II
amazon.com
SHOP NOW
Her Scottish retreat alone costs more than $4 million a year to maintain, but perhaps the most surprising revelation is that the entire Balmoral estate has recently been registered in the name of a commercial trust called Canup Ltd., whose directors include the Queen?s Treasurer, the head of the Royal Household, and the local land agent (Canup is the name of the nearby rocky hill that was the source of the granite used to build the original castle). The Scottish property has been in a family trust since Queen Victoria?s time; so, why transfer it to a more commercial financial vehicle now? The palace won?t say nor will the Scottish land registry although it did point out that formal registration is always sensible ?to affirm good title.?

royal angler
The Queen Mum, photographed here in New Zealand, was an avid angler.
CENTRAL PRESSGETTY IMAGES
Is it simply a question of a 94-year-old monarch tidying up any ownership issues prior to passing it on to the Prince of Wales? A clue to the mystery lies in the way the main title registration (ABN130387) also includes a subsection on fishing rights. A linked title (ABN130388) refers to the ?Separate Tenement: Salmon Fishing.?

Balmoral is blessed with some of the finest salmon fishing in Scotland; the Queen Mother famously cast her rod in the nearby river Muick, and now the public is being reeled in too with the offer of fishing in the same spot for $150 a day. In other words, it?s a way the grounds can be used to offset the estate?s high overhead. And the inclusion of salmon rights, which can sometimes be worth as much as $1 million, could help boost the market value of the entire estate to over $50 million.

The Royal Sheep Farm

[LouisFerdinand]

Do you think that it is a good idea that any unspent Sovereign Grant is put into a reserve fund?

[wannable]

The Royal Household today published its annual financial statement, the Sovereign Grant Report, for the financial year 2020-21.

The Sovereign Grant is the funding provided to support the official duties of The Queen and maintain the Occupied Royal Palaces. It also includes a dedicated amount to fund the ten-year Reservicing of Buckingham Palace, a major overhaul of essential building services including electrical wiring, pipework, boilers and generators.

You can download the documents by using the following links:

Sovereign Grant Report 2020-2021, Summary

Full Sovereign Grant Report 2020-2021

Sovereign Grant Report 2020-2021, Travel appendix

Financial reports 2020-21 | The Royal Family

[wannable]

Richard Palmer
@RoyalReporter

It?s quite difficult to get everything into the paper from royal finance day but hopefully we?ve given it a good go today. Charles?s accounts showing payments to the Sussexes continued in the year to March 2021 got top billing in most papers but the diversity story is important.

The palace currently has no plans to employ a Diversity Tsar but aides haven?t ruled it out. Interesting that Clarence House gave diversity figures but Kensington Palace declined. Both BP and CH admitted they had much work to do to employ more people from ethnic minorities.

[wannable]

Royal Family's accounts 
85.9 million - The total taxpayer-funded Sovereign Grant, made up of 51.5 million for the 'core' funding and an extra 34.4 million for the reservicing of Buckingham Palace.

87.5 million - Taxpayer funds spent by the monarchy - a rise of 18.1 million or 26% from 69.4 million in 2019/2020.

1.29 - Cost per person in the UK of funding the total Sovereign Grant.

77p - Cost per person of the 'core' part of the Sovereign Grant for official duties - not including funds for the long-term Buckingham Palace works.

2.4 million - Amount the Sussexes paid back with regard to Frogmore Cottage.

113 - Official engagements carried out by the Queen in the last financial year - 183 less or a decline of 62% compared to the 296 carried out in 2019-2020.

Almost 1,470 - Official engagements by the royals in the UK and overseas.

508 - Full-time equivalent staff paid for from the Sovereign Grant, with the wage bill coming to 24.1 million.

900,000 - Cost of housekeeping and hospitality for the Royal Household - a fall of ?1.7 million or 65%.

3.2 million - Cost of official royal travel, a fall of 2.1 million - 40% - from 5.3 million the previous year.

4.452 million - The Prince of Wales's bill for the Sussexes and the Cambridges' activities, plus Charles's other expenditure including his capital expenditure and transfer to reserves - a drop of 1.2 million in the year after Harry and Meghan quit.

20.4 million - Charles's annual private income from the Duchy of Cornwall landed estate.

3.063 million - Charles's non-official expenditure for himself and his family including salary costs of valets and farm workers and a proportion of costs for chefs and gardeners.

172,000 - Official costs of Charles's London office and official residence Clarence House.

5 million - Charles's tax bill.

47,965 - Cost of travel for William and Kate's royal train tour to Scotland.

42,486 - Travel costs for the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall's official visit to Germany.

[Curryong]

A former Lib Dem MP discusses the Financial Statement for 2020/2021 and suggests its high time the Royal Family does some belt-tightening in the future. And a look at some of these figures would make many agree.

Royal spending has gone up again - so why can't we save on our gracious Queen?

[TLLK]

Royal Family's accounts 
85.9 million - The total taxpayer-funded Sovereign Grant, made up of 51.5 million for the 'core' funding and an extra 34.4 million for the reservicing of Buckingham Palace.

87.5 million - Taxpayer funds spent by the monarchy - a rise of 18.1 million or 26% from 69.4 million in 2019/2020.

1.29 - Cost per person in the UK of funding the total Sovereign Grant.

77p - Cost per person of the 'core' part of the Sovereign Grant for official duties - not including funds for the long-term Buckingham Palace works.

2.4 million - Amount the Sussexes paid back with regard to Frogmore Cottage.

113 - Official engagements carried out by the Queen in the last financial year - 183 less or a decline of 62% compared to the 296 carried out in 2019-2020.

Almost 1,470 - Official engagements by the royals in the UK and overseas.

508 - Full-time equivalent staff paid for from the Sovereign Grant, with the wage bill coming to 24.1 million.

900,000 - Cost of housekeeping and hospitality for the Royal Household - a fall of ?1.7 million or 65%.

3.2 million - Cost of official royal travel, a fall of 2.1 million - 40% - from 5.3 million the previous year.

4.452 million - The Prince of Wales's bill for the Sussexes and the Cambridges' activities, plus Charles's other expenditure including his capital expenditure and transfer to reserves - a drop of 1.2 million in the year after Harry and Meghan quit.

20.4 million - Charles's annual private income from the Duchy of Cornwall landed estate.

3.063 million - Charles's non-official expenditure for himself and his family including salary costs of valets and farm workers and a proportion of costs for chefs and gardeners.

172,000 - Official costs of Charles's London office and official residence Clarence House.

5 million - Charles's tax bill.

47,965 - Cost of travel for William and Kate's royal train tour to Scotland.

42,486 - Travel costs for the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall's official visit to Germany.

For the bolded...OUCH! If only various governments had opted to take on the renovation in stages things might not have gotten so very bad at BP.

[Curryong]

I agree. The BP renovations are a project that has been put off since before the Blair govt years due to the cost and ongoing readjustments to royal finances. I like the way royal palaces and artefact preservation like coaches etc are tackled in the Netherlands. It?s no use British Govt departments throwing their hands in the air as seems to have been done for over thirty years in Britain. Postponing it does nothing. It only worsens a problem with very old buildings.

Tatler looked at some of the the ongoing renovations last year.

Inside Buckingham Palace's ?369 million renovation - including hand-stripping antique wallpaper | Tatler

[Curryong]

1.29 - Cost per person in the UK of funding the total Sovereign Grant.

77p - Cost per person of the 'core' part of the Sovereign Grant for official duties - not including funds for the long-term Buckingham Palace works.

This of course doesn?t include Duchy of Lancaster money.

I have never met anyone in Britain who believes that the cost of the monarchy works out at less than two pounds sterling per person per year. The cost of security alone around the Royal Palaces and other residences would at least triple that. Not to mention the staff employed at Court and the transport including helicopters.

Even RRs have chuckled at those sort of estimates in the past on their Twitter pages. Years ago Palmer suggested that it was almost certainly much much higher than any figure suggested publicly. In fact I would suggest that if the true figures were ever seen there would be a widespread protest, especially by the large sector of the British public who are either anti-monarchy or couldn?t care less about the BRF.

[PrincessOfPeace]

The Royal Household today published its annual financial statement, the Sovereign Grant Report, for the financial year 2021-22.

Financial reports 2021-22 | The Royal Family

[sara8150]

Queen Elizabeth's Responsibilities Reduced Amid Ongoing Mobility Issues | Vanity Fair
According to Vanity Fair

[TLLK]

A very wise decision on KCIII's part to have the profits redirected from funding the monarchy to the public.

King Charles redirects ?1bn windfarm profits towards ?public good? - Pehal News

he King has requested for earnings from a ?1bn-a-year crown property windfarm deal for use for the ?wider public good? moderately than as a funding enhance for the monarchy.

Below the taxpayer-funded sovereign grant, which is presently ?86.3m a 12 months, the King receives 25% of the crown property?s annual surplus, which incorporates an additional 10% for the refurbishment of Buckingham Palace.

Six new offshore wind power lease agreements, introduced by the crown property on Thursday, have generated a significant windfall for the property, which might normally result in a leap within the monarchy?s official funding.

However the king, who highlighted the price of residing disaster in his Christmas message, has requested that the additional funds ?be directed for wider public good?, as an alternative of to the sovereign grant, at a time when many are going through monetary hardship.

It?s not clear as to the precise quantity of taxpayer funding the king has handed up, however it?s prone to be many tens of millions.

King Charles redirects ?1bn windfarm profits towards ?public good? | King Charles III | The Guardian

The King has asked for profits from a ?1bn-a-year crown estate windfarm deal to be used for the ?wider public good? rather than as a funding boost for the monarchy.

Under the taxpayer-funded sovereign grant, which is currently ?86.3m a year, the King receives 25% of the crown estate?s annual surplus, which includes an extra 10% for the refurbishment of Buckingham Palace.

Six new offshore wind energy lease agreements, announced by the crown estate on Thursday, have generated a major windfall for the estate, which would usually lead to a jump in the monarchy?s official funding.

But the king, who highlighted the cost of living crisis in his Christmas message, has requested that the extra funds ?be directed for wider public good?, instead of to the sovereign grant, at a time when many are facing financial hardship.

It is not clear as to the exact amount of taxpayer funding the king has passed up, but it is likely to be many millions.

The crown estate ? an ancient portfolio of land and property ? belongs to the reigning monarch ?in right of the crown? but it is not their private property.

The monarch surrenders the revenue from the estate ? more than ?312m a year ? to the Treasury each year for the benefit of the nation?s finances, in exchange for the sovereign grant.

The king?s keeper of the privy purse, Sir Michael Stevens, who manages the royal household?s finances, has contacted the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, and the chancellor Jeremy Hunt ? his fellow royal trustees ? to ask for ?an appropriate reduction? in the percentage of crown estate profits used for the sovereign grant.

[wannable]

👌👍🙏💪

[Nightowl]

WOW...just WOW. amazing, this is so wonderful, amazing!

[HistoryGirl2]

Fantastic PR move (and I?m sure also personally well-meaning) amidst all of the other craziness.

[wannable]

This is HMKCIII giving since September 2022


✔️ 1m donated to food banks
✔️ Cost of living bonuses paid to all Royal Household staff
✔️ Significant donation to The Fuel Bank Foundation to help pay energy bills
✔️ Diverts profits (windmills sovereign grant) amounting to 250m towards public good (crisis of living, therefore it will be for ''domestic'' use noted! Not international funding of war for example)

Source of listing: twitter user Countess Commonweath

[TLLK]

How much of the Crown Estate King Charles is expected to divert to ?public good? ? Royal Central

King Charles has asked for a surge in profits from ?1 billion worth of six new offshore Crown State wind farms to be used for ?wider public good.?

The Royal Household?s public funding is based on 25% of Crown Estate profits. The Crown Estate is an independently-run commercial business. Profits go to the treasury, which then serves as a benchmark for the level of public funding the royal family receives. Known as the Sovereign Grant, last year the profits were worth ?86.3 million.

During his Christmas speech, the monarch spoke on the pressures of the cost of living. He wants to reduce the percentage of Crown Estate profits kept by the treasury and, in return, use it for public spending.

Profits are expected to be significantly boosted by the deals with the six new offshore wind farms. The farms are collectively worth ?1 billion per year for at least three years in fees. Those fees come from firms buying to build wind farms on the Crown Estate offshore sites.

The Sovereign Grant is based on 25% of Crown Estate profits. This is a temporary increase compared to the usual 15%. The extra funding is being used for repairs and renovations at Buckingham Palace. The grant is also used to pay for the costs of working royals for things such as travel, upkeep of royal palaces, and official engagements.

A review of the percentage of Crown Estate profits going into royal funding is being reviewed with the treasury. A decision is expected to be made in the next few months.

Anti-monarchy campaigners, Republic, reject the move as a ?cynical PR to pre-empt a government decision to reduce the percentage.?Three new offshore wind farms are located off the North Wales, Cumbria, and Lancashire coast. There are then three in the North Sea off the Lincolnshire and Yorkshire coasts.

Once the sites are developed, the goal is for them to generate enough electricity for seven million homes. This will add to the existing 36 operational offshore wind farms on Crown Estates. Those sites are off the coasts of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. 

[wannable]

Curryong posted an interesting piece dated 18 September 2022 by NBC (USA) author Laura Clancey, royal contemporary expert.

She (Laura Clancey) is not misinforming or disinforming, but misguiding her readers for the lack of explaining, she casually jumps to a next 'money grabbing' making Charles sound like a Wall Street Wolf.

King Charles made the royal family richer as England struggles

Calculating an accurate net worth is so difficult because the royal finances are a closely kept secret. Any inheritance passed ?sovereign to sovereign? ? from Elizabeth to Charles, for example ? is exempt from inheritance tax, due to a unique arrangement passed by the United Kingdom's government in 1993 to preserve royal wealth.

This is actually a benefit for every UK citizen, not only sovereign to sovereign
https://bills.parliament.uk/publications/47263/documents/2126

Crown Estates and Sovereign Grant

This includes the Crown Estate, a vast portfolio of land and property with a reported 15.2 billion pounds in assets, which is held by the monarch ?in right of the Crown.? That means it is not personally owned by Elizabeth or Charles, but rather owned by the crown as an institution. The estate is made up of prime central London real estate, shopping malls, forests, foreshore and wind farms.

The monarchy is officially funded by a taxpayer-funded payment, the Sovereign Grant, an amount which is calculated from 15%-25% of the Crown Estate?s profit.

Laura doesn't explain to her readers, The King surrenders the entire revenue from The Crown Estate to the government. Laura doesn't explain the the Trustees of the Crown Estate, the Monarch isn't a member of the trustees, Laura doesn't explain to the readers that the Soverreign Grant is for the UPKEEP of the crown estate in use by the Monarch and his family, i.e. Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, other crown estate properties where the family do not use is responsibility of the crown estate.  Laura doesn't explain that the Sovereign Grant also pays for official HM The King's UK Governement tours, coming from the Foreign and Trade Offices.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sovereign-grant-act-2011-guidance/sovereign-grant-act-2011-guidance

[wannable]

The windfarm deal has it's math too which actually would ''reduce'' the amount of moneys for the Sovereign Grant.

Explanation:

Sovereign grant is 25% of the 100% Crown Estate year end revenue, IOW 25% goes to the SG, 75% UK Government Treasury where they decide where the 75% of money revenue goes to, including war.

By decreeing that the Windfarm revenue will go straight to 'domestic' crisis, which means GBP250 million, this amount IS NOT included in the 100% Crown Estate revenue, meaning that the SG 25% is lower and the 75% Treasury is also lower.

[Nightowl]

The windfarm deal has it's math too which actually would ''reduce'' the amount of moneys for the Sovereign Grant.

Explanation:

Sovereign grant is 25% of the 100% Crown Estate year end revenue, IOW 25% goes to the SG, 75% UK Government Treasury where they decide where the 75% of money revenue goes to, including war.

By decreeing that the Windfarm revenue will go straight to 'domestic' crisis, which means GBP250 million, this amount IS NOT included in the 100% Crown Estate revenue, meaning that the SG 25% is lower and the 75% Treasury is also lower.

Thank you so very much for explaining the Windfarm revenue as I was told it only made the royal family richer, or something like that.  Charles is a brilliant businessman, he took the Duchy of Cornwall and look at what it does today for the country and the people, there is no doubt in my mind that Charles wants what is best for the country as you can see the joy and happiness in his eyes when he is at events just having the time of his life laughing and joking with the people....He will make a brilliant king if given half the chance by those that are filled with jealousy and hate for anyone that has more then them.

[Nightowl]

Curryong posted an interesting piece dated 18 September 2022 by NBC (USA) author Laura Clancey, royal contemporary expert.

She (Laura Clancey) is not misinforming or disinforming, but misguiding her readers for the lack of explaining, she casually jumps to a next 'money grabbing' making Charles sound like a Wall Street Wolf.

King Charles made the royal family richer as England struggles

This is actually a benefit for every UK citizen, not only sovereign to sovereign
https://bills.parliament.uk/publications/47263/documents/2126

Crown Estates and Sovereign Grant

Laura doesn't explain to her readers, The King surrenders the entire revenue from The Crown Estate to the government. Laura doesn't explain the the Trustees of the Crown Estate, the Monarch isn't a member of the trustees, Laura doesn't explain to the readers that the Soverreign Grant is for the UPKEEP of the crown estate in use by the Monarch and his family, i.e. Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, other crown estate properties where the family do not use is responsibility of the crown estate.  Laura doesn't explain that the Sovereign Grant also pays for official HM The King's UK Governement tours, coming from the Foreign and Trade Offices.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sovereign-grant-act-2011-guidance/sovereign-grant-act-2011-guidance

So this woman gets to prints her LIES and to make trouble for the royal family so that the monarchy will crumble under her feet......TYPICAL of those that are jealous in not being a royal and having BP as their home. And typical of those that so dislike Charles and William and everyone in the royal family here. As I have said before NOBODY on this earth is perfect except those that think they are right?  Not everybody can be born into a royal family yet some marry into a royal family then gets MILLIONS of dollars and then leaves wanting more millions....typical of some in the human race.

[wannable]

The way she wrote it is ''misguided' opinion piece based on factual UK Parliamentary Law makings, BUT she commits the cardinal sin by being purposely FAULTY (hence misguided), so for non royal watchers with absolutely no knowledge of UK's inheritance tax, sovereign grant and crown estate, clicking on it, and taking it fully in, they'd very likely go to social media and spread the half baked thing.

[wannable]

Thank you so very much for explaining the Windfarm revenue as I was told it only made the royal family richer, or something like that.  Charles is a brilliant businessman, he took the Duchy of Cornwall and look at what it does today for the country and the people, there is no doubt in my mind that Charles wants what is best for the country as you can see the joy and happiness in his eyes when he is at events just having the time of his life laughing and joking with the people....He will make a brilliant king if given half the chance by those that are filled with jealousy and hate for anyone that has more then them.

The Windfarm simple math credit goes to the Financial Times, with no sly coating, straight and direct the Windfarm is part of the portfolio of the Crown Estate, but with Charles decree.....enter the simple math.

[TLLK]

Twitter pursued over unpaid rent by King Charles's Crown Estate - The Washington Post

LONDON ? The Crown Estate, which manages the British monarchy?s vast property portfolio, launched court proceedings against Twitter over unpaid rent at the social media giant?s office space in central London?s West End neighborhood, it said in a statement Tuesday.

[wannable]

Twitter auctions office equipment, coffee machines as Musk slims company  (I have to admit the democratic inclined media are fixated with Elon Musk.  All worldwide companies are 'slimming down' and unreported; Amazon to the 10 thousands, Google to the thousands)

^They will probably move to a smaller facility.