Queen Elizabeth has reportedly been selling expensive socks and other gift items through the Royal Collection in the hopes of raising money, which the royal palaces failed to make due to the pandemic.
During an appearance on ITV's talk show, Lorraine, royal commentator Russel Myer pointed out that the Royal Collection website has some bizarre but quite expensive items that are being sold for the first time. Myers said that the socks go for about $90 (£69) a pair, which he said doesn't look "that nice."
The online store also sells hot water bottles, dog bandanas, and other kinds of gift items. It's not the first time that the Queen's estate has resorted to selling items online in response to an expected shortfall in its tourism earnings as visitors hardly came to the royal palaces' due to the lockdowns.
In July, the Royal Collection Trust released a limited number of gins for sale, whose ingredients came from the gardens of Buckingham Palace. In November, the trust also released a special edition Sandringham gin with ingredients plucked from the fruit trees that have been growing in the farming estate for centuries.
It comes as the Queen's earnings from last year would be short of about $22 million, forcing the royal palaces to let go of some 250 workers. Since the tourist sites have not been in operation, some staff members had to be let go as there wasn't any work to do without the visitors.
According to Statista, at least 1.65 million tourists visit the Queen's palaces every year with Windsor Castle, Frogmore House and Buckingham Palace as the most popular sites. Buckingham Palace opens at special times of the year only, when the Queen is usually spending her summer at Balmoral in Scotland.
But Queen Elizabeth's official residence had to close to the public in March 2020 until the end of summer due to the rise in COVID-19 cases in the city. Essentially, the exhibitions that were supposed to be launched in the summer had to shut down as well.
Meanwhile, a source told The Sunday Times that Queen Elizabeth hopes to return to Buckingham Palace this year and resume her public duties after staying in isolation for most of 2020. She has been planning a major comeback for June when she celebrates her birthday parade, the annual Trooping the Colour.
Insiders said that there is an "ultimate desire" for Queen Elizabeth to proceed with this event thus plans are beginning to come together. However, the Queen also understands that this could be scaled down or called off if the public health situation still poses risks.
For life to get back to normal, the United Kingdom intends to roll out its vaccine program against the COVID-19 virus at full steam. Queen Elizabeth and her 99-year-old husband, Prince Philip, have had their first vaccination and will complete the procedures in a matter of weeks.
