Queen Elizabeth II is down to her last £1million
Published: 2013 October 11 07:25:04 (5951 Views)
It has emerged the Queen is down to the last £1million in her rainy day account.
And that total is a worry for the royal household as it may not be enough to cover any 'unexpected costs', warns a National Audit Office report.
Last year, her taxpayer-funded sovereign grant was £31million and it will rise to £37.9million in 2014/15.
The £1million balance in the grant reserve represents three per cent of the Queen's annual expenditure.
So Buckingham Palace has been advised to save more cash in its reserves as part of its long-term planning.
While the royal household generated £11.6million in income last year, up from £7.5million in 2007/08, 39 per cent of the Queen's 360 buildings were 'below the household's target condition', because of a backlog of repairs.
Despite freezing pay for all staff earning more than £50,000, Her Majesty paid out £19.5million in wages to her 436 staff last year – making workers' average salary £44,724-a-year, way above her average yearly pay of £26,500 for the UK generally.
The report comes days before MPs question the Queen's treasurer, Sir Alan Reid, for the first time about how her grant is spent.
Buckingham Palace would not comment on the report.
James Gray, of anti-monarchy group Republic, said: 'Why are they able to spend what they like, when they like and only account for it afterwards? Why does the sovereign support grant have no upper limit?'
Still, the money woes aren't yet critical for Her Majesty – last year, Brand Finance estimated the royal family, as a business, was worth £44.5billion.
- Metro
And that total is a worry for the royal household as it may not be enough to cover any 'unexpected costs', warns a National Audit Office report.
Last year, her taxpayer-funded sovereign grant was £31million and it will rise to £37.9million in 2014/15.
The £1million balance in the grant reserve represents three per cent of the Queen's annual expenditure.
So Buckingham Palace has been advised to save more cash in its reserves as part of its long-term planning.
While the royal household generated £11.6million in income last year, up from £7.5million in 2007/08, 39 per cent of the Queen's 360 buildings were 'below the household's target condition', because of a backlog of repairs.
Despite freezing pay for all staff earning more than £50,000, Her Majesty paid out £19.5million in wages to her 436 staff last year – making workers' average salary £44,724-a-year, way above her average yearly pay of £26,500 for the UK generally.
The report comes days before MPs question the Queen's treasurer, Sir Alan Reid, for the first time about how her grant is spent.
Buckingham Palace would not comment on the report.
James Gray, of anti-monarchy group Republic, said: 'Why are they able to spend what they like, when they like and only account for it afterwards? Why does the sovereign support grant have no upper limit?'
Still, the money woes aren't yet critical for Her Majesty – last year, Brand Finance estimated the royal family, as a business, was worth £44.5billion.
- Metro
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