The Royal Train reaches the end of the line after 156 years, as costs bite

Sydney Morning Herald

01-07-2025

It is currently set at 12 per cent of the profit from the Crown Estate – a portfolio of properties that are owned by the monarch during his reign.
Thanks to a boom in revenue from offshore wind leases, the Crown Estate's profits are soaring, meaning royal funds will leap from £86.3 million to £132 million for the next two years.
Chalmers said this money would help pay for the remaining £100 million needed to complete the 10-year repairs to Buckingham Palace and the maintenance of other historic buildings.
The Crown Estate is one of the many relics of Britain's feudal past. The properties are professionally managed and the king cannot dispose of the assets.
King George III, who ruled during the American Revolution, surrendered management of the crown lands to Parliament in 1760 in return for a fixed payment from the Treasury.
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The royal finances remain a topic of public debate, with Charles pledging to slim down the monarchy and cut costs as he seeks to ensure the institution's survival.
Buckingham Palace was quick to point out that while the Sovereign Grant has been unchanged for the past four years, inflation has eroded its value. If the grant had increased in line with inflation, it would have been about £106 million this year, the palace said.
Craig Prescott, a constitutional law expert at Royal Holloway, University of London who focuses on the political role of the monarchy, said funding for the royals was relatively small when compared to the overall cost of the British state and it provides tangible benefits for the country.
'It's something that puts Britain on the world stage in a way that few other things do,' he said, noting that Queen Elizabeth II's funeral was the largest gathering of world leaders in history and the coronation was broadcast around the world.
'It's one of those things that people think about when they think about Britain.'
Anti-monarchists, who say the monarchy's price tag amounts to more than half a billion pounds, said the annual reports were misleading.
'The cost of the monarchy is out of control and these reports receive almost no political scrutiny,' Graham Smith, chief executive of campaign group Republic, said.
Last November, the Sunday Times and a TV documentary accused Charles and his elder son Prince William of making millions from the country's health service, army and schools from charges imposed by the monarch's Duchy of Lancaster estate and the heir's Duchy of Cornwall estate.
William Bax, the chief executive of the Duchy of Cornwall, acknowledged that criticism as he detailed its annual report on Monday, saying they were making changes at a time of 'reflection and evolution'.
Bax said they intended to end or reduce rents charged to some community groups and charities, while the report showed William's personal income from the Duchy had fallen slightly to just under £23 million.
Chalmers said the global significance of the royals could not be underestimated, citing a Global Perceptions Survey which found the monarchy the single biggest influence on perceptions of the UK among international audiences.
Over the past year, Charles travelled to Australia and attended the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa – his first as the organisation's head. The royals also took centre stage at the 80th anniversaries of D-Day and V-E Day, which marked the end of World War II in Europe.
Overall, the royals made 1900 public appearances in the U.K. and overseas. Some 93,000 guests attended 828 events at the royal palaces.
AP, Reuters