25 September 2020 - Royal family faces £35 million shortfall because of Coronavirus
Covid: Royal accounts show potential £35m shortfall due to pandemic
(BBC News, 25/09/2020)
Royal accounts could suffer a potential £35m shortfall due to coronavirus.
The impact of lockdown on visitor numbers to venues such as Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle will lead to an estimated £15m loss of income over the next three years, the Keeper of the Privy Purse said.
And a 10-year £369m budget to refurbish Buckingham Palace is expected to be £20m short, Sir Michael Stevens added.
UK royals set for cutbacks after £35m pandemic blow
Caroline Davies (The Guardian, 25/09/2020)
Buckingham Palace is belt-tightening after a projected £35m double-whammy financial blow due to Covid-19, as royal accounts reveal the Sussexes’ flights to southern Africa cost nearly £250,000 and Prince Andrew took a £16,000 charter to a Northern Ireland golf tournament.
The palace also confirmed that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have made a “substantial contribution” for an undisclosed amount to the sovereign grant for Frogmore Cottage, their private Windsor residence refurbished with £2.4m in public money before the couple relocated to Los Angeles.
Royal backlash: Queen should NOT receive millions from Treasury for COVID losses – poll
Luke Hawker (The Express, 24/09/2020)
The Queen has seen the value of land and property from the Crown Estate plummet over the last six months due to the pandemic. The Monarchy receives 25 percent of the profits - through a Sovereign Grant - from her vast portfolio which includes London’s Regents Street, the Windsor Estate and retail parks across the country.
The Treasury has confirmed the Sovereign Grant will receive a cash injection to make up for the loss of income.
However, a poll of more than 3,000 Express.co.uk readers has found seven-out-of-ten people think the Treasury should not subsidise the financial loss.
Royal Family: Flights for two-day trip taken by Prince Charles cost £210k, figures show, as financial hole emerges
Rhiannon Mills (Sky News, 25/09/2020)
The travel costs for Harry and Meghan's high-profile tour of southern Africa came to £246,000 - and flights for a two-day visit to Oman taken by Prince of Wales cost £210,345.
The standout figures from the royal finances for 2019-20 come as officials warn that the royal accounts are set to take a £35m hit as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Prince Charles had flown to Oman to pay his condolences following the death of Sultan Qaboos bin Said - and private charter flights needed to be used because the visit was at very short notice.