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The Queen

The cost of the monarchy to the British public was put at 62p a head in 2005-06 — a figure that only the most ardent republicans are likely to begrudge. The annual report on royal public finances last June showed that the head of state’s expenditure rose by 4.2% — twice the rate of inflation — to £37.4m. In her personal capacity the Queen has an investment portfolio we reckon to be worth £120m. Given the fact that the stock market has had a tough time of late, this is the same figure as last year. There has been a surge in land and property prices in the past year and we add £10m for personal property such as Sandringham, Balmoral and smaller houses along with the royal stud, taking this element to £100m. Her Majesty’s personal art collection is worth just £2m, but her collection of stamps, jewellery, cars and horses, added to her mother’s legacy, takes the Queen, 81, to £320m. How she must rue the day in 1760 when George III took an income from the state in return for giving up the profits and control of the crown estate. With valuable assets such as London’s Regent Street, the estate is now worth more than £5 billion. In 2005-06, it made a record £190.8m profit, which went to the Treasury.