| Her Majesty's generosity knows no bounds. In December, she agreed to pay £1m in rent from her own funds to allow Prince and Princess Michael of Kent to stay on in their apartment at Kensington Palace. It is also likely that she paid off the £4m overdraft of her mother, who died last year. With the death of her sister, Princess Margaret, as well, 2002 was a sad year for the Queen, brightened only by the golden jubilee celebrations. The Queen's actual bank balance might come as a shock to many people - it has never been as high as is generally believed. We assume that much of the Queen Mother's residual estate will have gone to the Queen, 77, but such asset wealth - maybe £15m - will not have made up for any falls in the Queen's investment portfolio, and we cut that to just £80m. Her personal properties, Sandringham, Balmoral, the royal stud and one or two houses, add £70m. Her own personal art is worth just £2m, against the £10 billion in the crown's hands. The royal stamp collection, jewels, cars and horses, plus the Queen Mother's legacy, should take her to £255m, but we lop off £5m for the cost of the Kents and clearing the Queen Mother's overdraft.
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125
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£275m
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