Queen cost UK taxpayers less than $1 each last year, but royal coffers face further squeeze
By APMonday, July 5, 2010
Cost of the queen: less than $1 per person a year
LONDON — Buckingham Palace says the royal family cost Britons 62 pence ($0.94) per person last year, 7 pence less than in 2008-2009.
Accounts released Monday show the total cost of supporting the monarchy was 38.2 million pounds in the year to March 31, more than 3 million pounds less than the year before.
Britain’s public sector is facing cuts as the government tries to eliminate a huge deficit, and Alan Reid, Keeper of the Privy Purse, said the royal household “is acutely aware of the difficult economic climate.”
The queen receives 7.9 million pounds of public money each year to pay for staff and other costs.
The accounts show she also drew an extra 6.5 million pounds from a reserve fund built up over the years by saving portions of her allocated budget.
