COST OF ROYALTY

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 56, Issue 123, 6 March 1936, Page 8

COST OF ROYALTY

THE CROWN ESTATES. PROFIT TO THE EXCHEQUER. Although the cost of the Royal Family to the people of Britain, in taxation and revenue from Crown estates, is in the neighbourhood, of £700,000 a year, this charge is much more than balanced, by, a revenue exceeding £1,250,000 a year from the estates mentioned, together with over £20,000 a year which is made available for charities and other purposes. The question was raised in a cablegram from London a few days ago, ancl an explanation of the way in which British Royalty is maintained should lie of some interest. The provision for the support of the Royal Household is rather complicated and has undergone revision at various times. For many centuries the Crown possessed extensive land revenues in the United Kingdom, hut most of these were surrendered by George 111. on his accession in 1760, and have since been collected, on the- public account in return for a fixed annual' payment known as the Civil List. The amount of this is settled at the beginning of each reign. Land revenues which the Crown has not surrendered are those of the .Duchy and County"f’alatinc. of Lancaster, which are payable to the King, and th'ose of the Duchy of Cornwall, which are payable to the Heir Apparent. As there is now no Heir Apparent, the Duke of York being Heir Presumptive, the disposal of 'the Cornwall revenues raises legal questions of considerable interest. State’s Large Revenue. The Crown Lands, which are administered by a Board of Commissioners, brought, in a revenue of £1,902,000 in the year ended March 31, 1934, the last period for which figures are available. This sum included £122,000 from mines. The expenditure, including property tax allowed, was £629,000. The net amount of £1,230,000 was paid into the Exchequer as “surplus revenue.” For many years the Chancellor of the Exchequer lias budgeted for more than £1,000,000 annually from this source. On the scale fixed at the accession of King George V., the present Civil List amounts to £470,080 a year for the use of the King, with a further sum of £124,000 for other members of the Royal Family. However, King George decided, in September, 1931, in view of the financial position of the country, to reduce Civil List by £50,000, and this deduction appears to have been maintained until bis death. The original sum of £470,000 a year was allocated as follows:—Their Majesties’ Privy Purse, £110,000; salaries of household, £125,800 ; expenses of household - , £193.000; works, £20,000; Royal Bounty, £13,200; unappropriated, £BOOO. The Civil List Act of 1910 also provided that Queen Mary, in the event cf her surviving the King, .should receive an annuity of £70,000. No income was set apart for the Prince of Wales, but it was provided that if he should marry the Princess of Wales was to receive £IO,OOO a year, to be increased to £30,000 in the event of her surviving him. The other sons of the King were to receive £IO,OOO a year on reaching 21, with an additional £15,000 a year cn marriage. Princess Mary was allotted £6OOO a year cn reaching 21, or on her marriage. The following annuities are also a charge upon the Consolidated Fund: — The Duke of Connaught, uncle of the late King, £25,000; Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, Princess Beatrice, aunts.of the late King, each £6000; Queen Maud of Norway, sister •of the late King, £6OOO. The Two Royal Duchies. The Duchy of Cornwall was created by Edward 111. for the support of his eldest son, and its revenues ever since have provided tlic income of the Heir Apparent. The estate includes a large area of land in Kennington, London. The revenue in 1926, the lasi, year for which complete figures are available, was £246,000. Of this, £66,000 was paid to the .Prince of Wales, £15,000 in allowances, donations and, charities, and £39,000* to> the Government, the remainder being absorbed in expenses of management and outlay for the benefit cf the estate.

The King in 1933 received £82,000 from the revenues of the Duchy of Lancaster, the gross total being £145,000. A sum of £4BOO was expended in allowances, donations and charities, after necessary expenses had been met. , Queen Victoria and King Edward VII. left large private fortunes, the greater part cf which, it is believed, was inherited bv George V. Although the King’s income from all sources was very large, the expense of maintaining the Royal establishments at Windsor, Buckingham Palace, St. James’ Palace, Balmoral and Sandringham, the last of which was the King’s private property, was necessarily immense. In fact, at various times, King George was forced to make considerable retrenchments. It is worthy of note that in the Great War period he paid, into the Exchequer a sum of £IOO,OOO as a personal contribution to the cost of meeting the national emergency. The present King, who as Prince of Wales also inherited a considerable private fortune, is stated to have largely increased it by judicious investments. He has taken a very keen interest in the management cf his Kennington estate, which includes a large amount of house property tenanted by working people. The estate is generally considered to be a model .of its kind. It includes the famous cricket ground, the Kennington Oval, which is preserved for its present use at a heavy sacrifice of revenue which would be obtained if the land were used for building purposes.