Earl and Countess of St. Andrews and Family News 1: September 2003-

[kelly9480]

Prince Michael used to sit as a director on the boards of several companies to help make ends meet, but, according to some articles, he's lost a lot of those positions, and the money that comes with them.

[A.C.C.]

In_the_show,_when_they_said_1.5billion,_they_were_reffering_to_Her_personal_fortune_not_including_the_royal_collection.__The_Queen_holds_the_royal_
collection_in_trust_for_the_nation,_and_the_collection_is_said_to_be_worth_over_12billion,_yet_make_no_mistake,_the_collection_is_Hers.

[kelly9480]

Well, then they were inaccurate, because she couldn't have earned that kind of money from stocks *(she's had some real duds on the market)*, and her father didn't get that amount because he was the second son (and had 4 siblings to share with), and paid for Windsor and Marina. And her land is worth nowhere near that amount, especially not now, during the agricultural depression.

Elizabeth Mountbatten does not own the RC. Its in a trust, and she controls the trust.

Shaped by the personal tastes of kings and queens over more than 500 years, the Royal Collection includes paintings, drawings and watercolours, furniture, ceramics, clocks, silver, sculpture, jewellery, books, manuscripts, prints and maps, arms and armour, fans, and textiles. It is held in trust by The Queen as Sovereign for her successors and the Nation, and is not owned by her as a private individual. Curatorial and administrative responsibility for the Collection is held by the Royal Collection Department, part of the Royal Household.

The Collection has largely been formed since the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660.* Some items* belonging to* earlier* monarchs,* for* example Henry VIII, also survive.* The greater part of the magnificent* collection* inherited* and* added to by Charles I was dispersed on Cromwell's orders during the Interregnum. The royal patrons now chiefly associated with notable additions to the Collection are Frederick, Prince of Wales; George III; George IV; Queen Victoria and Prince Albert; and Queen Mary, Consort of George V.

The Royal Collection is on display at the principal royal residences, all of which are open to the public.* Unlike most art collections of national importance, works of art from the Royal Collection can be enjoyed in the historic settings for which they were originally commissioned or acquired.* Much of the Collection is still in use at the working royal palaces.

The official residences of The Queen have a programme of changing exhibitions to show further areas of the Collection to the public, particularly those items that cannot be on permanent display for conservation reasons. The Golden Jubilee of Her Majesty The Queen will be marked by the creation of two flagship exhibition spaces at Buckingham Palace and the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

Loans are made to institutions throughout the world, as part of the commitment to make the Collection widely available and to show works of art in new contexts. Touring exhibitions remain an important part of the Royal Collection's work to broaden public access.*

Over 3,000 objects from the Royal Collection are on long-term loan to museums and galleries around the United Kingdom and abroad. National institutions housing works of art from the Collection include The British Museum, National Gallery, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Museum of London, the National Museum of Wales and the National Gallery of Scotland.

The Royal Collection is the only collection of major national importance to receive no Government funding or public subsidy and is administered by the Royal Collection Trust, a registered charity.* The Trust was set up by The Queen in 1993 under the chairmanship of The Prince of Wales, following the establishment of the Royal Collection Department as a new department of the Royal Household in 1987. Income from the public opening of Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace and the Palace of Holyroodhouse and from associated retail activities supports curatorial, conservation and educational work, loans and travelling exhibitions and major capital projects. These projects include the restoration of Windsor Castle after the fire in 1992, the rebuilding of The Queen's Gallery at Buckingham Palace and the construction of an entirely new gallery at the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/page601.asp

The Royal Collection, one of the finest art collections in the world, is held in trust by The Queen as Sovereign for her successors and the nation. It is on public display at the principal royal residences and is shown in a programme of special exhibitions and through loans to institutions around the world.*

http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page552.asp

The Royal Collection is the only collection of major national importance to receive no Government funding or public subsidy.*  It is administered by the Royal Collection Trust, a registered charity established by The Queen in 1993 under the chairmanship of The Prince of Wales.* The role of the Trust is to ensure that the Collection is conserved and displayed to the highest standards and that public understanding of and access to the Collection is increased through exhibition, publication, education and a programme of loans.

These wide-ranging activities are funded by monies raised through the Trust's trading arm, Royal Collection Enterprises, from the public opening of Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace and the Palace of Holyroodhouse and from retail sales of publications and other merchandise.* Current projects funded through the Royal Collection Trust include the major expansion of exhibition space at Buckingham Palace and at the Palace of Holyroodhouse to mark The Queen's Golden Jubilee in 2002.

The Royal Collection Trust determines how the income generated should be used in pursuit of its stated objectives.

The Trust's primary aims are to ensure that:
the Collection is subject to proper custodial control;

the Collection is maintained and conserved to the highest possible standards;

as much of the Collection as possible can be seen by members of the public;

the Collection is presented and interpreted so as to enhance the public's appreciation and understanding;

appropriate acquisitions are made when resources become available.

http://194.203.40.17/output/Page602.asp

[A.C.C.]

But_what_does_"to_hold_in_trust"_mean_because_members_of_the_royal_family_and_others_have_said_that_she_does_own_it_while_holding_it_in_trust,_but_
others_dispute_that,so_I_am_lost.__On_the_1.5billion_thing,_I_guess_we_all_
need_to_face_that_we_don't_and_probably_will_never_know_how_much_The_Queen_is_worth_because_we_simply_do_not_have_the_facts_and_recources_
to_calculate_it.__The_experts_have_different_sums_so_it's_something_that_is_
disputed_by_everyone.

[Josefine]

what has heppend to your text?

[A.C.C.]

It_messed_up,_it_should_be_fixed_soon.

[kelly9480]

When something is held in trust, it's owned by the trust, rather than the individual. Trustees, who have the responsibility of maintaining the objects, have control over whatever is held in trust. So Elizabeth doesn't own the RC, because the RC Trust owns the RC. And the RC Trustees have the responsibility to maintain, exhibit, and (when possible), enlarge the RC.

[sophie25]

Queen Mary did not leave all of her Faberge to the Queen. She left Princess Marina a substantial collection much of which was passed to Prince Michael. Princess Michael was, in fact, so impressed with her husband's collection that she designed a large glass topped coffee table, which stands in the centre of their drawing room at Kensington Palace, to house part of it. Indeed when questioned about how they could afford the £300,00 they required to purchase Nether Lypiatt Manor in 1980 a close friend of theirs remarked that two or three items from that coffee table alone would more than cover the cost.

P.S. Should anyone be interested there is a pictute of the Michael's sitting next to said table in the book "Inside Kensington Palace" by Andrew Morton.

[kelly9480]

NLM cost the Kents more than they could afford to pay. Charles turned it down because renovating the house was more than he could afford, and he has more cash than anyone in the family -- though he spends it like water.

[sophie25]

Well Kelly, dosn't that tell you that the so-called "penniless Royals" are not as penniless as you suggest?

[kelly9480]

I never saids they were penniless. I said they aren't as wealthy as ppl like to state.

And the fact that Michael has had to shell out massive amounts of his capital on that house doesn't make me think he's got a lot of money. It makes me think the otherwise. Anyone with money in stocks knows you never eat into your capital, you hold out for the interest to build up. And since Michael's own friends have gone to magazines pleading his need for financial assistance (Tatler), it makes me think he needs assistance from the Queen (I wouldn't allow my pals to go to an international magazine talking about how hard up I was).

The fact that ppl who research and study that family for either a living or a serious hobby have pointed out that they cannot be as wealthy as ppl like to believe carries more weight with me than someone on this board who simply doubts the Windsors' honesty. I believe the Queen when she said to Parliament that estimates where grossly over-estimated, simply because if she lied, it would have come out by now. And I believe the experts who have dug around her finances for decades now, before I believe someone who cannot use common to sense to recognise that rich ppl don't sell their country homes.

[A.C.C.]

Niether_The_Queen_or_Her_children_have_sold_their_country_estates!!!

[kelly9480]

Where did I say that the Queen's children had? The Kents (the duke and duchess) have given up several country estates. The Gloucesters have moved out of theirs, but apparently haven't sold it (it's currently inhabited by some antiques firm).

[sophie25]

How do you know that I don't research and study the family for either a living or a serious hobby Kelly? How do you know that I don't have first hand knowledge of the people we are discussing?

[kelly9480]

I have not quoted ppl who write about royals for a living. I have quoted ppl who write about money for a living.

[wymanda]

I'm astonished that there were know answers, opinions, gossip to this question.

Is there something to hide, perhaps???

[kelly9480]

He's very private and no one knows what's going on in his private life. He was seen at a party in 2002 standing in the vicinity of a blonde -- but that was a long time ago and doesn't mean they were together.

[guzina]

Hi

What ara the rumors about Lord Nicholas Windsor? I keep hearing things and I dont know what to bielive!

[LieseTeschen]

Does anybody know anything about him?

[Elspeth]

I read somewhere that, like his parents, Lord Downpatrick been received into the Roman Catholic church, so he's not in the line of succession any more.