Editing Monarchy of the United Kingdom (section)

==Finances==

{{Main|Finances of the British royal family}}

Until 1760, the monarch met all official expenses from hereditary revenues, which included the profits of the [[Crown Estate]] (the royal property portfolio). [[King George III]] agreed to surrender the hereditary revenues of the Crown in return for the [[Civil list#United Kingdom|Civil List]], and this arrangement persisted until 2012. An annual Property Services [[grant-in-aid]] paid for the upkeep of the royal residences, and an annual Royal Travel Grant-in-Aid paid for travel. The Civil List covered most expenses, including those for staffing, state visits, public engagements, and official entertainment. Its size was fixed by Parliament every 10 years; any money saved was carried forward to the next 10-year period.<ref name="cl">{{Citation |title=Royal Finances: The Civil List |url=http://www.royal.gov.uk/TheRoyalHousehold/Royalfinances/Sourcesoffunding/TheCivilList.aspx |publisher=Official website of the British Monarchy |access-date=18 June 2010 |archive-date=16 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116214447/http://www.royal.gov.uk/TheRoyalHousehold/Royalfinances/Sourcesoffunding/TheCivilList.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> From 2012, the Civil List and Grants-in-Aid were replaced with a single [[Sovereign Grant]], which was initially set at 15% of the revenues generated by the Crown Estate and increased to 25% in March 2017.<ref>{{Citation |title=Royal funding changes become law |date=18 October 2011 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15345351 |publisher=BBC News |access-date=20 June 2018 |archive-date=16 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116214454/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15345351 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2017/438/made |title=The Sovereign Grant Act 2011 (Change of Percentage) Order 2017 |publisher=UK Parliament |year=2017 |isbn=9780111156957}}</ref> The programme of overseas visits by the monarch is determined by the [[Royal Visits Committee]], a [[Cabinet Office]] committee.

The Crown Estate is one of the largest property portfolios in the United Kingdom, with holdings of £15.6&nbsp;billion in 2022.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Our Annual Report 2021/22 {{!}} Our Annual Report 2021/22 |url=https://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/annual-report-2022/ |access-date=28 December 2022 |website=www.thecrownestate.co.uk |archive-date=28 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221228093758/https://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/annual-report-2022/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> It is held in trust, and cannot be sold or owned by the sovereign in a private capacity.<ref>{{Citation |title=FAQs |url=http://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/tce_faqs.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903022316/http://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/tce_faqs.htm |publisher=Crown Estate |access-date=1 September 2011 |archive-date=3 September 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In modern times, the profits surrendered from the Crown Estate to the Treasury have exceeded the Sovereign Grant.<ref name=cl/> For example, the Crown Estate produced £312.7&nbsp;million in the financial year 2021–22,<ref name=":1" /> whereas the Sovereign Grant for the monarch was £86.3&nbsp;million during the same period.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Emma.Goodey |date=29 June 2022 |title=Financial reports 2021–22 |url=https://www.royal.uk/financial-reports-2021-22 |access-date=28 December 2022 |website=The Royal Family |language=en |archive-date=28 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221228100918/https://www.royal.uk/financial-reports-2021-22 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Like the Crown Estate, the land and assets of the [[Duchy of Lancaster]], a property portfolio valued at £383&nbsp;million in 2011,<ref>{{Citation |title=Accounts, Annual Reports and Investments |date=18 July 2011 |url=http://www.duchyoflancaster.com/management-and-finance-2/accounts-annual-reports-and-investments/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111012094537/http://www.duchyoflancaster.com/management-and-finance-2/accounts-annual-reports-and-investments/ |publisher=Duchy of Lancaster |access-date=18 August 2011 |archive-date=12 October 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> are held in trust. The revenues of the Duchy form part of the [[Privy Purse]], and are used for expenses not borne by the parliamentary grants.<ref>{{Citation |title=Royal Finances: Privy Purse and Duchy of Lancaster |url=http://www.royal.gov.uk/TheRoyalHousehold/Royalfinances/Sourcesoffunding/PrivyPurseandDuchyofLancaster.aspx |publisher=Official web site of the British Monarchy |access-date=18 June 2010 |archive-date=25 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110925005204/http://www.royal.gov.uk/TheRoyalHousehold/Royalfinances/Sourcesoffunding/PrivyPurseandDuchyofLancaster.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Paradise Papers]], leaked in 2017, show that the Duchy of Lancaster held investments in the British [[tax haven]]s of the [[Cayman Islands]] and [[Bermuda]].<ref>{{cite news |mode=cs2 |last=Osborne |first=Hilary |title=Revealed: Queen's private estate invested millions of pounds offshore |date=5 November 2017 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/nov/05/revealed-queen-private-estate-invested-offshore-paradise-papers |work=The Guardian |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171105190200/https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/nov/05/revealed-queen-private-estate-invested-offshore-paradise-papers |access-date=9 November 2020 |archive-date=5 November 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Duchy of Cornwall]] is a similar estate held in trust to meet the expenses of the monarch's eldest son. The [[Royal Collection]], which includes artworks and the [[Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom|Crown Jewels]], is not owned by the sovereign personally and is held [[Trust law|in trust]],<ref>{{Citation |title=FAQs |url=http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/about/frequently-asked-questions |publisher=Royal Collection |access-date=30 March 2012 |archive-date=8 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141208190936/http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/about/frequently-asked-questions |url-status=live }}<br />{{Citation |title=Royal Collection |url=http://www.royal.gov.uk/The%20Royal%20Collection%20and%20other%20collections/TheRoyalCollection/TheRoyalCollection.aspx |publisher=Royal Household |access-date=9 December 2009 |archive-date=23 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623115630/http://www.royal.gov.uk/The%20Royal%20Collection%20and%20other%20collections/TheRoyalCollection/TheRoyalCollection.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> as are the occupied palaces in the United Kingdom such as [[Buckingham Palace]] and [[Windsor Castle]].<ref name="res">{{Citation |title=The Royal Residences: Overview |url=http://www.royal.gov.uk/TheRoyalResidences/Overview.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501012839/http://www.royal.gov.uk/TheRoyalResidences/Overview.aspx |publisher=Royal Household |access-date=9 December 2009 |archive-date=1 May 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The sovereign is subject to indirect taxes such as [[Value-added tax in the United Kingdom|value-added tax]], and since 1993 the monarch has paid [[income tax]] and [[capital gains tax]] on personal income. Parliamentary grants to the sovereign are not treated as income as they are solely for official expenditure.<ref>{{Citation |title=Royal Finances: Taxation |url=http://www.royal.gov.uk/TheRoyalHousehold/Royalfinances/Taxation.aspx |publisher=Official web site of the British Monarchy |access-date=18 June 2010 |archive-date=26 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926235805/http://www.royal.gov.uk/TheRoyalHousehold/Royalfinances/Taxation.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> Republicans estimate that the real cost of the monarchy, including security and potential income not claimed by the state, such as profits from the duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall and rent of Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, is £334&nbsp;million a year.<ref>{{Cite web |date=30 December 2012 |title=Royal finances |url=https://republic.org.uk/what-we-want/royal-finances |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017201841/https://republic.org.uk/what-we-want/royal-finances |archive-date=17 October 2015 |access-date=20 August 2015 |website=[[Republic (political organisation)|Republic]]}}</ref>

Estimates of Queen Elizabeth II's wealth varied, depending on whether assets owned by her personally or held in trust for the nation were included. ''[[Forbes]]'' magazine estimated her wealth at US$450&nbsp;million in 2010,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Serafin |first=Tatiana |date=7 July 2010 |title=The World's Richest Royals |work=Forbes |url=https://www.forbes.com/2010/07/07/richest-royals-wealth-monarch-wedding-divorce-billionaire.html |access-date=13 January 2011 |archive-date=25 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110625002328/http://www.forbes.com/2010/07/07/richest-royals-wealth-monarch-wedding-divorce-billionaire.html |url-status=live }}</ref> but no official figure was available. In 1993, the [[Lord Chamberlain]] said estimates of £100&nbsp;million were "grossly overstated".<ref>{{Citation |last=Darnton |first=John |title=Tax Report Leaves Queen's Wealth in Dark |date=12 February 1993 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/02/12/world/tax-report-leaves-queen-s-wealth-in-dark.html?pagewanted=1 |work=The New York Times |access-date=18 June 2010 |archive-date=16 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116214552/https://www.nytimes.com/1993/02/12/world/tax-report-leaves-queen-s-wealth-in-dark.html?pagewanted=1 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Jock Colville]], who was her former private secretary and a director of her bank, [[Coutts]], estimated her wealth in 1971 at £2&nbsp;million<ref>{{Citation |title=£2m estimate of the Queen's wealth 'more likely to be accurate' |date=11 June 1971 |work=[[The Times]] |page=1}}; {{Harvp|Pimlott|2001|p=401}}</ref> (the equivalent of about £{{Formatprice|{{Inflation|UK|2000000|1971|r=-6}} }} today{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}}). The ''[[Sunday Times Rich List 2020]]'' estimated Elizabeth II's personal wealth at £350&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite news |mode=cs2 |title=The Queen net worth — Sunday Times Rich List 2020 |newspaper=[[The Sunday Times]] |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/royal-family/article/sunday-times-rich-list-the-queen-net-worth-jbg329flv |issn=0140-0460 |access-date=11 November 2020 |archive-date=10 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201110203132/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sunday-times-rich-list-the-queen-net-worth-jbg329flv |url-status=live}}</ref>