Queen Elizabeth II's annual income, reportedly, has a seven percent increase. The new accounts show the revenue of her private Duchy of Lancaster estate grows by £1.5 million, totaling to over £23 million.
The increase comes from the "portfolio of land, property, and assets." However, the accounts made on March 31, which only covered the first week of the coronavirus lockdown, showed Queen Elizabeth's net asset value had decreased by 1.8 percent or more than £10 million, leaving her with £538 million.
Duchy CEO Nathan Thompson said, via The Sun, the COVID-19 pandemic would "likely present significant challenges" next year. Although the results only showed the effect one week to the virus outbreak, the global health crisis already had "an early impact on capital values."
He explained that the 1.8 percent drop of net asset value is most likely because of the fall in the financial portfolio's value itself as the market reaction to the pandemic. Thompson added many of their tenants' businesses would be directly affected, especially those in the "leisure and retail sectors."
However, he cleared that he just acknowledged that it might happen, although it was too early to predict the eventual outcome. It seemed like he could not deny that there would "significant challenges" next year.
In addition, according to Express, Queen Elizabeth would receive a £3-million payment increase this year. This came from the laws that guaranteed her income, funded by the taxpayers, would never decrease.
Unfortunately, other members of the Royal Family would experience several "pay-cuts" due to the COVID-19 crisis.
The financial reports showed that the Reforms Chancellor George Osborne made paved the way for the dramatic increase in the Queen's annual taxpayer-funded grant from £31 million in 2013 to £86 million this year. Add to that the Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle ticket sales, her official income for 2018-2019 totaled to £100 million -- the first time she hit this value.
However, these financial laws do not cover all the royals like Queen Elizabeth. There will be "multi-million losses" in the royal estates and charities due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The health crisis will also affect the profits of the family's estates from the farmland's rents to other commercial properties. The Duchy of Cornwall, already, revealed that next year's "revenue surplus" would show a significant decline. A Buckingham Palace spokesman warned the whole country would most likely feel the COVID-19 pandemic's financial impact, and the Royal Household "is no exception."
