The Royal Finances

[ysbel]

My concern with holding the Royal Family accountable like a business or government office is that pretty soon the people only think of it as a business or a tax expense making it easier to do away with the Royals.

The Royal Family has got to provide more value than just bringing in the tourists. Once the RF family's value can be put on a bottom line of a balance sheet, I'm afraid its too easy to find cheaper alternatives and then a thousand year tradition is gone out the door. That's what happens to products that are for sale on cost savings alone.

Yes I know there has to be some accountability but the way it is being handled in the press leaves a lot to be desired.

[ysbel]

Originally Posted by Skydragon

I found this old article about the tax HM pays, you might be interested to know that no tax is paid on the income from the Duchy of Lancaster

I think no taxes are paid on the Duchy of Cornwall either.

[chrissy57]

Originally Posted by ysbel

I think no taxes are paid on the Duchy of Cornwall either.

Charles has paid taxes on the Duchy of Cornwall income voluntarily throughout his life.

I believe it was 50% of the income until he married Diana and then it was dropped to 25% and that is where it remains today but I could be mistaken.

[Avalon]

Originally Posted by ysbel

I think no taxes are paid on the Duchy of Cornwall either.

The Prince of Wales pays income tax at the 40% rate on his income from the Duchy of Cornwall, after his business-related costs are deducted. Last year, the Prince paid £3.3 million in tax.

Prince Charles also pays Capital Gains Tax on all capital gains that he receives. He does not, however, receive any capital proceeds or gains from the Duchy, because he is not entitled to them.

[Skydragon]

Originally Posted by Elspeth

Wasn't Charles's contribution limited to paying for restoration of the private areas of Clarence House, not to the rooms that were being opened to the public?

I would think that was the case as Charles' contribution to the restoration was 1.5 million.

According to this and similar articles that I read at the weekend, because of some very clever tax breaks, Charles is in effect only paying the same as a lower paid worker, which is around 22%.

Prince Charles pays 'basic rate tax' - Finance and Accounting jobs UK

The only difference to his tax after marrying Diana, would have been that he was entitled to the married mans allowance.

[Saphire]

This is more of a question then a reply, but does anybody know how much money do Fred/Mary, Felipe/Letizia, WA/Maxima and all the other Crown couples get to support their households? And the money that they receive, is it supposed to cover palace maintenance, servants, etc. or is it for their personal (i.e. clothes, entertainment, vacations, etc.) use?

[norwegianne]

In 2006 Frederik received what would amount to £ 1.4 milions (converted from Danish Crowns) from the state. Out of this he is paying for staff, his court, administrative expenses, the inside of his residences. The Crown Prince and Crown Princess had approx. £ 281,545 for their personal expenses. It is said that the Crown Princess, who receives no money of her own, is meant to get 10% of this for her expenses.

In 2007 Haakon and Mette-Marit will receive £501,304 for personal expenses. They get £1,070,582 for their staff. They also get quite a bit of subisidies from the state, to continue farming, as the farm, Skaugum, they're living on is producing various things. (The latter is available to all farmers in Norway- and Haakon and Mette-Marit are not receiving special treatment here. Prince Joachim in Denmark is also receiving farming subsidies, for his farm, in addition to money from the state for his work as a prince.)

[Next Star]

If the British people chooses to continue to have a monarchy then they should realize that their going to pay for the living conditions of the royal family and the upkeeping of all the royal estates/properties except Balamoral and Sanddotting palaces excuse my spelling on the last palace I tried to spell it the best way I could.

[Aberdeen student]

Is it true that royalty do not carry cash?
If so, first of all why; and how do they buy things otherwise?

[Aurora810]

I am certainly no expert especially on the British RF. I'm not really sure why they would not carry cash. Because being robbed is not a likely thing when they would have bodyguards nearby. I'm not sure exactly which members of the BRF have bodyguards but I would think many of them must. If they choose not to carry cash then they can just use a credit card or debit card. I actually carry very little cash with me and choose to use mostly debit or credit. I would not really put too much value in this report, just my opinion.

Also just an interesting note: Back when Princess Martha Louise of Norway got married it was reported weeks after her honeymoon that her and her husband chose to use only cash on their honeymoon so that their credit cards would not be tracked in any way. Which would ensure their privacy.

[contessa]

I heard one time if I remember correctly Charles did not have any cash and a body guard came up with some for him.

[ashelen]

i listen too that they do not pay for anything there under their name, they have people for them or the bill it is send it to them and after they pay, i really i do not know how it works, i am sure if the pay with credit card , they could not pass unnotice . and for example i am thinking about Princess Maxima in Argentina, I am sure she piad cash not to be recognize!
anyone knows how they pay when the go shopping?????

[ChanelWindsor]

I remember there being pictures of Princess Maxima in Argentina at an ATM machine.

[Skydragon]

I think Charles (now) and Camilla carry cash, when they stopped at the side of the road on the way back from Caithness, for the 'bra line', they donated £10 and didn't Camilla pay for her snacks at one of the hospitals she visited? There are many places, especially in the Highlands, that do not take credit cards and with the unreliable signal for mobile phones, it is always wise to have some money in your pocket.

Most stores are more than happy to supply and then invoice them in hope of receiving a Royal Warrant or just to be able to say 'we supply' so and so.

[Madame Royale]

It probably varies from house to house, but I'd imagine most do nowadays. How much or how little is anybody's guess really.

[ysbel]

I think in the past it was more customary for royals to always have ladies-in-waiting or valets accompanying them so that the lady in waiting or valet would carry the cash or credit card and quietly pay for things that need to get paid. If they always had a servant around and handy to carry the cash and pay for things as needed, there probably was no need to carry cash themselves.

But interestingly enough, as far back as the reign of Edward VI, son of Henry VIII, it was mentioned that the young King was often embarassed in outings with his young playmates that he never had any coins to treat them to a snack or other small trifle. So his uncle, Sir Thomas Seymour, often slipped the young King a few farthings so that he would always have a little change in his pockets.

But being the King of the wealthiest country in Europe didn't necessarily mean that Edward naturally had cash at his disposal when he wanted it.

[sirhon11234]

I believe Diana, William and Harry carried cash whenever they went shopping.

[mpwong]

Hello everyone. This is my first message. I am a student from Hong Kong and am now working on my final year project which is about the British Royal family. I find it difficult to find the estamated personal wealth of the monarch or the civil list from late 19th century on. I would be deeply grateful if any dear member can let me know or give me any hint where i can find the information. Thank you very much.

[Elspeth]

Welcome to TRF, mpwong!



There's some information on the royal family's official website here:

The Monarchy Today > Royal finances

[mpwong]

Thanks very much for your reply and information. I've visited them and they are useful. But while the Forbes estimated the Queen's personal wealth is around 280million GBP in 2006, anyone knows how much Queen Vicotoria, or Edward VII, George V, Edward VIII, George VI had? I am trying to plot a graph, which is about the royal wealth and the UK's GDP and trying to see if the royal wealth, like the power of the royal family, is falling or not.