THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Queen has received a “pay rise” of 16 per cent after London’s flourishing prime property market and wind farm developments drove the Crown Estate to record profits.
The grant the monarch receives each April from the Government increased from £31 million to £36.1 million.
The cash is used to fund the official duties of several members of the Royal family, pay staff and maintain the palaces.
The rise follows changes made by the Coalition as to how the taxpayer funds the monarchy.
George Osborne, the Chancellor, scrapped the Civil List, which financed the official duties of the Queen, and replaced it with a Sovereign Grant that is equal to 15 per cent of the Crown Estate's annual profits.
The Crown Estate, which owns property on behalf of the Queen, said profits rose to £240 million from £231 million in the year to March 31, 2012.
The record profits have been attributed to an increase in rents from retailers for its urban properties and an increase in income from the seabed it owns around the UK because of rents from new wind farm developments and construction companies paying for material such as sand. » | Victoria Ward | Tuesday, April 02, 2013
