London
While Queen Camilla and the late Prince Philip may have joined Britain’s royal family with the title of wife, their annual allowances are nowhere near enough. According to a National Audit Office (NAO) report on the royals’ finances, the new Queen will not be given a separate sum, unlike the late Duke of Edinburgh, who received around £360,000 a year from Parliament.
Instead, Queen Camilla’s activities will be funded by the Sovereign Grant. The report, which was published on Friday, underlined that as King Charles’ new monarch, his reign “could change future funding requirements in substantial ways”. It also revealed that “Parliament granted Prince Philip a separate annuity of £359,000 a year”.
It further noted, “Queen Camilla will not receive a separate annuity and the Queen’s activities will be funded by grants.” The disparity is caused specifically by a 2011 law. According to the Independent, previously, payments and grants from the government to the late Queen Elizabeth II were replaced by Sovereign Grants, which are based on a percentage of profits made by the Crown Estate. However, the new law retained a provision for the duke, allowing him to receive his annuity for the rest of his life, even after he retired from royal duties in 2017.
In the case of Queen Camilla, all expenses will be paid for by the Sovereign Grant, with sufficient funds to meet any additional expenses. “These changes may affect the spending profile but will be within the available funding from grants,” the NAO said. The report speculated that there could also be a direct impact on future funding for the royals, with little understanding of plans for King Charles’ upcoming activities. “Each King and Queen have their own interests and preferences which affect their event schedule. Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has cut back on events and visits in recent years due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. This It may be reasonable to assume that the monarch will host more events at the request of the government and travel to more events within the UK and abroad,” it concluded.
