Port Vila, Vanuatu (PressExposure) June 29, 2010 -- The British Queen is expected to take her share of the British public's pain, following the harshest spending cuts in years, after the finance minister declared he would freeze her annual state allowance this year.
The monarch is quoted as having given her 'full agreement' to a one-year cap on her £7 9 million ($16.6 million) salary, Chancellor George Osborne said in an emergency budget statement.
The queen has not had a pay increase in 2 decades and newspaper reports suggest her courtiers are pushing the new government to raise her allowance, for carrying out public roles.
"Because of inflation, the annual payment is today worth only a quarter of what it was 20 years ago. This has required careful management," said Osborne.
The queen's allowance is up for its 10-yearly review. Given the sad state of public finances and the unstable economic recovery, the timing couldn't have come at a worse time.
The Daily Telegraph stated that the current payment fell £7 million short of covering the yearly cost of the Queen's public duties.
The queen and her husband Prince Philip are the only royals receiving payment from the Civil List. The bulk of which is spent paying staff, with the rest used on things like official functions such as garden parties, stationery and laundry.
Despite her many historic palaces packed with costless artworks and the costless crown jewels, Britain's third-longest serving monarch has a reputation for frugality.
She is reported to turn off lights in empty rooms and asks chefs to reuse leftover food. The first royal allowance was set in 1689 at £1.2 million, although that included money for the military.
The Queen and her husband Prince Philip are the only royals receiving payment from the Civil List. The bulk however, goes towards paying staff, with the remainder being spent on things like stationery, laundry and official functions such as garden parties.
The government has said the Queen's spending will now be oversighted by the National Audit Office, the agency that pores over the accounts of government departments.
Although nine of the world's fifty richest people are women, the Queen is not listed with them, even though she has a $14.7 billion estate.
Highest on the list of the wealthiest women is 56 year old Alice Walton, daughter of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton, worth approximately $20.7 billion. Liliane Bettencourt, of L'Oreal, comes next, with $20 billion.
From the reign of King Goerge III, when a new monarch takes the throne, they sign a lease to the government, handing management of the £7billion pound ($14.7 billion) portfolio over to the government. The Crown estate is administered by an autonomous organization, on behalf of the government.
If the fresh monarch chose not to sign the lease, the monarch would regain control of the crown portfolio and would be dismissed from the civil list payments.
For more information about Queen Of England Accepts To Pay Cut, visit website http://www.tropicpost.com/pay-cut-for-queen-of-england/.