The productivity of princesses or handshakes by the £

Press, 19 April 1980, Page 15

The productivity of princesses or handshakes by the £

By

ELIZABETH GRICE.

“Sunday Times,” London

Princess Anne may not be Britain’s favourite princess, but last year, contrary to popular belief, she was the busiest. With a new Civil List allowance of' £85,000 and a tendency to overspend, she needs this kind of record. A 30 per cent expenses increase — “pay rise” is the vulgar term — well above that of the rest of the Royal Family, has made her the natural target of the latest Civil List controversy. But Court Circular statistics show her 1979 performance in an unex-

pected light. She was “paid” less (£65,400) but did more than three other members. of her family., Of her 121 public, assignments, 75 were official visits. She attended 25 lunches and receptions, presided over four meetings, gave 12 audiences and made five overseas trips. Numerically at least, her duties were on a par with those of the Queen Mother (118) and Princess Margaret (113) — who received £207,500 and £71,500 respectively — and above those of the Dukes of Kent

and Gloucester (£78,700 and £57,000). Even the popular Princess Alexandra (£74,000) assumed to be one of the hardest working princesses — was way behind. Only Princess Anne’s mother, father and brother had more engagements. This method of assessing royal value for money (see table) is distrusted by the Palace because the Court Circular gives only the bare bones of royal progress. One visit can mean 20 engagements and 1000 hand-shakes, it is pointed out.

Three-quarters of Civil List payments are said to be swallowed by staff wages. The rest goes towards expenses on official duties, clothes, and entertaining. Some of the Royal Family say they have to supplement the list from their own'pockets. “They are- certainly not being paid for what they do.” said a member of the Clarence House staff. “The allowance helps to maintain a certain standard. People don’t want the Queen to go round on a bicycle. When they are on

duty, it’s often 18 hours a day.” . Princess Anne’s workrate.. however, has interested her critics less than her housekeeping. The Phillips household at Gatcombe Park. Wiltshire, overspent by an unspecified “several thousand pounds.” The roof was restored, guttering mended, and security improved. Their car had to

have a new engine. “It all adds up,” says the palace. The equation has not been .helped by Captain Mark Phillips’s odd remark —as he accepted a £60,000 sponsorship from British Leyland—that they were “just a young couple with )

a mortgage.” Their £500,000 estate was a wedding gift from the Queen. Gatcombe Park is classed as an official residence and its upkeep is met from the Civil List.

Two years ago they built extensive stables at a reputed cost of £lOO,OOO. The palace describes as “grossly inaccurate” suggestions that their agricultural and equestrian interests draw

on public money, “All these expenses are most carefully and scrupulously looked at by the Treasury. It is quite wrong to think that they could be used for stables or Mustique or any other private purposes.”

1979 1980 Rise Duties, undertaken in 1979 ' Official Visits Receptions, Lunches Meetings presided ov.er Audiences Overseas tours, & visits. i Total : Queen 2,281,300 2,716,300 +435,000 ' 83 52 •—* ’ 186 _ 4 325 Queen Mother - 207,500 244,000 +36,500 63 35 : 1 18 X . 118 PrincePhilip 102,700 135,000 +32,000 112 . 82 31 2 16 . 243 EJfike of Kent 78,700 89,000 +10300 58 16 12 7 3 96 • i Princess / 74;500 ’ 85,000 . +10300 55 11 3 6 4 79 Princess Margaret Princess ■ . ■ 71,500 82,000 +10,500 74 ■ 27 6 5 . ' 1 113 . 65,400 85,000 +19,600 75 25 4 12 5 121 Duke of Gloucester 57,000 65,000 +8,000 - 52 27 8 2 : 6 95 ■ Princess 30;000 - 35,000 +5,000 35 11 3 i r. 51 j Prince Charles. Not on Civil List: Income from Duchy of Cornwall 120 39 19. 15 194