(Reuters) – Britain’s Queen Elizabeth and her royal family are set to see a huge boost to the funding they receive from United Kingdom taxpayers.
Official estimates showing the crown’s finances will receive 76 million pounds this year — or 96 million United States dollars — nearly double what they received in the last two years.
The money is used on everything from travel expenses to the cost of staff and upkeep of Buckingham Palace and their other estates.
The government has agreed to raise the amount paid into a 10-year, 369-million pound repair job to the Palace, which needs urgent fixes for its aging heating, plumbing, and electrical systems.
Yet the true costs for the royals are likely to be much higher, as the government estimates do not include the price of their security detail.
The royals do not operate off only public money; their privately owned properties generated almost 330 million pounds in profits this year, according to the BBC.
Regardless of her budget, polls suggest Queen Elizabeth is hugely popular with Britons – at least two thirds want to keep the monarchy in place.
Buckingham Palace says the royals provide good value for the money, about 65 pence per person last year, or roughly the cost of a postage stamp.
