Losses to the Royal Household’s core budget will amount to £ 15million over the next three years. (File)
London:
The British royal family on Friday defended taxpayer-funded trips, including a golfing getaway from besieged Prince Andrew, as he warned of a financial blow resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.
Unveiling the annual financial report for the Household of Queen Elizabeth II, officials also said Prince Harry and his wife Meghan are now paying commercial rent on their British residence at Windsor Castle, having left the front line royal.
The sovereign grant, which funds the official functions of the monarch and the upkeep of the royal palaces, amounted to £ 82.4m ($ 105m, € 90.1m) during the fiscal year closed in March 2020, a slight increase over the previous year.
In March, the UK went into lockdown against the coronavirus pandemic and royal finances were affected by the loss of significant revenue generated from public tours of palaces.
Losses to the royal household’s core budget will amount to £ 15million over the next three years, according to Michael Stevens, who, as custodian of the private purse, is the Queen’s treasurer.
A separate budget for long-term repairs aimed at preventing a ‘catastrophic failure’ of the fabric of Buckingham Palace, the Queen’s main residence in London, will suffer from a shortfall of £ 20million.
By law, the sovereign subsidy cannot decline from year to year, and the monarchy has become increasingly cost conscious given the broader public control over its affairs.
But Stevens said UK taxpayers would not be asked to spit for additional deficits, at a time when millions of people are suffering from falling income or outright loss of their jobs.
“In responding to these two financial challenges, we do not intend to ask for additional funds and we will seek to manage the impact through our own efforts and efficiency,” he told reporters.
The royal household has already instituted a wage freeze and new hires, and “is actively seeking to cut non-essential spending,” a royal source added.
Royal sports
The annual report details the costs of royal travel over the past fiscal year, including £ 15,848 incurred for a charter flight to take Prince Andrew to a golf club in Northern Ireland in July 2019.
Another charter flight was deemed necessary for Princess Anne to attend a rugby match between Italy and Scotland in Rome in February, at a cost of £ 16,440.
While the Queen’s only daughter is a very popular and industrious member of the family, her second son Andrew’s reputation has been shattered by her association with the late Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted pedophile.
Both royals were serving in an official capacity as patrons of relevant organizations, and no commercial flights were available to fit their schedules, the royal source said.
Officials were also questioned by a claim by Prince Harry’s spokesperson this month that the Queen’s grandson had repaid £ 2.4million of taxpayer money used to renovate Frogmore Cottage, his house in the grounds of Windsor Castle.
The Duke of Sussex and his former wife actress retired from royal duties earlier this year in a quest for ‘financial independence’, and are said to have reimbursed the renovation costs of a multi-million dollar deal with the giant from Netflix television.
The Sussexes’ disaffection with media scrutiny came to a head during a 10-day tour of southern Africa in September 2019 – a trip that cost the taxpayer £ 245,643.
The royal source said the couple, who moved to the United States, intended to keep Frogmore Cottage as a residence in the UK and were paying higher commercial rent to reflect the added value of the renovation.
The Cottage, a 19th century building on the expansive grounds of Windsor Castle, West London, has been transformed from five separate houses into one property.
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