Buckingham Palace has announced that the royal family’s income will fall by £ 5 million a year over the next three years. The main reason for the losses is the closure of Windsor Castle and other tourist attractions during the local lockdown. As a result of the pandemic, the Queen will also receive £ 20 million less for the refurbishment of Buckingham Palace. It is a ten-year project that was originally set to cost £ 369 million. Instead, the seat of the British monarchs expects to have to do the work for £ 349 million, or even less.
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What fate awaits his employees? Despite extensive financial shortcomings, he does not have to worry about his work, the royal palace announced. He also said that he did not plan to fire them and hoped that he would be able to cover the financial shortfalls with his own efforts and savings.
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“We expect a significant reduction in revenue due to the impact of the pandemic on the number of visitors. This forms a significant part of the projected revenue shortfall, which we estimate will be around £ 5 million a year over the next three years, ”said Michael Stevens, the royal treasurer. In other words, the significant decrease in the number of visitors to the palaces due to the pandemic will mean an estimated 15 million pounds (over 443 million crowns) in income for the queen in the next three years.
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Another cause of the deficit is also a decline in commercial rents due to the pandemic.
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The pandemic is slamming the vast property empire that provides Queen Elizabeth II with a significant chunk of her income — and British taxpayers could be making up the shortfall for years to come. https://t.co/p2o9fbFNEs
— CNN (@CNN) September 25, 2020
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The treasurer also said they were “likely to receive £ 20 million” (over 591 million crowns) less for Buckingham Palace’s repairs in London than originally planned. “We do not intend to apply for additional funding,” he added. He also said that a reduction in royal activity as a result of the pandemic, including foreign tours, would help make up for part of this shortcoming.
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Basic principles of financing the royal court
The funding of the British Royal Court is relatively complex. The Queen has income from several sources, including her private property and the state coffers. She receives them in exchange for giving up, like all her predecessors on the throne, the income from the crown’s property since 1760, which includes a number of lands, real estate and other assets throughout the country. The revenue from them goes to the state budget.
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The numbers from the royal accounts point out a few more interesting details. For example, last year’s ten-day trip of Prince Harry and Meghan to Africa was the most expensive in the last year. It cost taxpayers £ 245,000.
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