After the death of Queen Elizabeth II, who had been on the throne for 70 years in the British monarchy, discussions about the management of the royal wealth came to the fore.
According to the information compiled by the AA correspondent, the value of the royal family’s wealth reaches 28 billion dollars. Of this amount, $ 500 million is the personal wealth of Queen Elizabeth II.
The wealth includes personal investments, horses, a stamp collection, jewelery and artwork, including Balmoral Castle in Scotland’s Aberdeenshire region, where Queen Elizabeth II died.
Personal wealth was left to Elizabeth II following the death of her mother, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, in 2002.
This fortune of Elizabeth II will now go to her son, the new King Charles III, exempt from any inheritance tax.
Resurging as a controversial issue, this tax exemption was granted in 1993 by then-Prime Minister John Major, with a reference to the “unparalleled importance of royalty”.
THE BODY MANAGEMENT OF THE ROYAL PROPERTY: CROWN ESTATE
Much of the royal family’s estate is managed by an independent board appointed by the British government.
The total value of the assets controlled by the economic structure called the Crown Estate is around $19 billion.
Among these assets are the entire Regent Street, one of the famous streets of London, and the Royal Ascot track, where traditional horse races are held.
Speaking to AA correspondent, Andrew Hill, a senior economics writer for the Financial Times newspaper, said, “The Crown Estate consists of companies owned by the Crown. Whoever heads the monarchy, technically heads the Crown Estate. The head of the monarchy can be consulted, but at the highest level of the Crown Estate, either the King or The Queen’s role is symbolic.” made its assessment.
Finally, writing an article titled “Queen Elizabeth II: Inside the Royal Economy”, Hill said that as a result of her research, she found out that Queen Elizabeth II conveyed her ideas to the commission members “with a very fine touch” in some cases.
Hill stated that the wealth owned by the Crown is very tightly controlled by the state and the throne holder has a very limited margin of flexibility.
However, 25 percent of the income from the Crown Estate goes to the Sovereign Grant fund to cover the royal family’s expenses.
These expenses include upkeep of properties, staff wages, royal programs and receptions.
According to the BBC’s report, in 2021, Royal members made 2 thousand 300 official participation in the programs.
The remaining 75 percent of the Crown Estate’s revenues go to the British Treasury.
Another item owned by the Crown is the properties of the Crown Estate Scotland, located in Scotland.
It is recorded that the value of wealth in Scotland is around 590 million dollars.
KING CHARLES 3 IS NOT AUTHORIZED TO SELL BUCKINGHAM PALACE
Properties outside the Crown Estate also make up a significant portion of the wealth.
King Charles III, who will receive the title of the Duke of Lancaster, also earns income from more than 18 thousand hectares thanks to this title.
The title of Duke of Cornwall, which corresponds to a fortune of 1.3 billion dollars, which was King Charles’ previous title and now passed to his eldest son William, also corresponds to an annual income of 20 million pounds.
William’s legacy includes the largest organic food brand in the UK, as well as a nature retreat in Transylvania.
Other assets outside of the titles include Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace. However, the right of the royal to make decisions on these structures is also limited.
The new King Charles III also does not have the authority to sell Buckingham Palace, which is worth about $5 billion.
ANTI-MONARCHISTS WANT THE ROYAL WEALTH TO BE RETURNED TO THE PEOPLE
Anti-monarchists living in the United Kingdom have been voicing for years that it is not right for the royal expenses to be covered by taxpayers.
In the debate that has been going on since the 1760s, when these rights were given to the monarchy after the agreement reached, the supporters of the republican regime argue that all the assets of the kingdom should be returned to the people.
Hill from the Financial Times stated that he believes the Royal spending worth millions of pounds will continue in the coming period.
However, Hill said that in the light of the recent debate, some steps could be taken to cut expenses during the reign of King Charles III, to reduce the number of staff to work and to reduce the government-funded portion of the royals’ expenses.
Professor at Royal Holloway University Pauline Maclaran also pointed out that British taxpayers are questioning the current situation. she said.
Noting that he wanted to underline the importance of the monarchy by putting the values it represents in the foreground, Maclaran said that in this way, he emphasized his position as a defender of tradition.
prof. Maclaran, on the other hand, pointed out that the meaning of monarchy is less important to the younger generation, and stated that the supporters of the monarchy are mostly composed of older and more conservative-minded people.
TOURISM REVENUES
How much the brand value of the Crown affects tourism revenues is another fundamental question on the subject.
Monarchists emphasize the impact of the traditional importance of the Crown on the country’s economy.
The latest research on the subject in 2017 by the company Brand Finance included an analysis of the Crown’s contribution to British tourism of $640 million. However, the non-governmental organization “Republic”, which states that the security expenses of the royal members are covered by the state outside the Crown Estate, claims that even the cost of protecting the Crown is 345 million pounds.
Experts predict that the discussions on the subject will continue for a long time.