The British royal household could take a £35 million hit to their finances due to the impact of covid, official accounts have revealed.
Making up nearly half of the shortfall, the lack of visitors to venues such as Buckingham Palace and Windsor alone is predicted to deprive the royal accounts of £15m over the next three years.
At an annual briefing on royal finances it was heard that a separate budget for long-term repairs designed to avert a "catastrophic failure" to the fabric of Buckingham Palace, the queen's main residence, will suffer a shortfall of £20m.
Annual travel costs for the family were also revealed.
The most costly overseas trip was Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's high-profile tour of southern Africa, which came in at £246,000, while expenses for a two-day visit by Prince Charles to Oman after the death of Sultan Qaboos bin Said cost the family £210,345.
The annual report showed the activities of the Cambridges and the Sussexes contributed to a £5.6m bill for Prince Charles.
It also revealed Prince Andrew charged £15,848 for a charter flight to attend a golf championship in Northern Ireland.
Another charter flight was deemed necessary for Princess Anne to attend a rugby match between Italy and Scotland in Rome, at a cost of £16,440.
Both royals were serving in an official capacity as patrons of relevant organisations, and there were no commercial flights available to accommodate their schedules.
The Sovereign Grant, which pays for the monarch's official duties and upkeep of royal palaces, came to £82.4m in the financial year ending in March 2020, a slight rise from the year before.
By law, the Sovereign Grant cannot go down year-on-year, and the monarchy has become increasingly cost-conscious given wider public scrutiny of its affairs.
But Keeper of the Privy Purse Sir Michael Stevens, who is the Queen’s treasurer, said British taxpayers would not be asked to cough up for the additional shortfalls.
It comes at a time when millions are suffering a drop in income or outright loss of their jobs due to the pandemic.
"In responding to both these financial challenges we have no intention of asking for extra funding and will look to manage the impact through our own efforts and efficiencies," he said.
The royal household has already instituted a freeze on pay and new hiring, and is "actively looking at cutting non-essential expenditure", a senior royal source added.
Officials were also grilled about a claim by Prince Harry's spokesman this month that the queen's grandson has paid back £2.4m of taxpayers' money used to renovate Frogmore Cottage, his home in the grounds of Windsor Castle.
The Duke of Sussex and his former actress wife retired from royal duties earlier this year in a quest for "financial independence", and reportedly paid back the refurbishment costs out of a multi-million-dollar deal with streaming giant Netflix.
Key figures
- Harry and Meghan's high-profile tour of southern Africa cost £246,000
- Prince Charles' two-day visit to Oman after the death of Sultan Qaboos bin Said cost £210,000
- William and Kate's official tour of Pakistan cost £117,116
Prince Andrew took a charter flight to Northern Ireland to attend a golf championship, costing £15,848
Princess Anne used a charter flight costing £16,440 so she could fly to Rome to watch Scotland play rugby as their patron
Funding for the Cambridges and Sussexes contributed to a £5.6m bill for Prince Charles in 2019-2020, up 11 per cent on the previous year
Prince Charles earned £22.2m in private income from the Duchy of Cornwall estate
Cost per person in the UK of funding the total Sovereign Grant is £1.23
Cost of housekeeping and hospitality, listed in the Buckingham Palace accounts, is £2.6m
GRAN%20TURISMO
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreator%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ramez%20Galal%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ramez%20Galal%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStreaming%20on%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMBC%20Shahid%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES
UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
- Saturday 15 January: UAE beat Canada by 49 runs
- Thursday 20 January: v England
- Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh
UAE squad:
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles
Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly,
Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya
Shetty, Kai Smith
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
The specs
Engine: 2.5-litre, turbocharged 5-cylinder
Transmission: seven-speed auto
Power: 400hp
Torque: 500Nm
Price: Dh300,000 (estimate)
On sale: 2022
Company%20Profile
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ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Indika
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Essentials
The flights
Emirates flies direct from Dubai to Seattle from Dh6,755 return in economy and Dh24,775 in business class.
The cruise
UnCruise Adventures offers a variety of small-ship cruises in Alaska and around the world. A 14-day Alaska’s Inside Passage and San Juans Cruise from Seattle to Juneau or reverse costs from $4,695 (Dh17,246), including accommodation, food and most activities. Trips in 2019 start in April and run until September.
UAE central contracts
Full time contracts
Rohan Mustafa, Ahmed Raza, Mohammed Usman, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Sultan Ahmed, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid
Part time contracts
Aryan Lakra, Ansh Tandon, Karthik Meiyappan, Rahul Bhatia, Alishan Sharafu, CP Rizwaan, Basil Hameed, Matiullah, Fahad Nawaz, Sanchit Sharma
The%20specs
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UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, semi-final result:
Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona
Liverpool win 4-3 on aggregate
Champions Legaue final: June 1, Madrid
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
The language of diplomacy in 1853
Treaty of Peace in Perpetuity Agreed Upon by the Chiefs of the Arabian Coast on Behalf of Themselves, Their Heirs and Successors Under the Mediation of the Resident of the Persian Gulf, 1853
(This treaty gave the region the name “Trucial States”.)
We, whose seals are hereunto affixed, Sheikh Sultan bin Suggar, Chief of Rassool-Kheimah, Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon, Chief of Aboo Dhebbee, Sheikh Saeed bin Buyte, Chief of Debay, Sheikh Hamid bin Rashed, Chief of Ejman, Sheikh Abdoola bin Rashed, Chief of Umm-ool-Keiweyn, having experienced for a series of years the benefits and advantages resulting from a maritime truce contracted amongst ourselves under the mediation of the Resident in the Persian Gulf and renewed from time to time up to the present period, and being fully impressed, therefore, with a sense of evil consequence formerly arising, from the prosecution of our feuds at sea, whereby our subjects and dependants were prevented from carrying on the pearl fishery in security, and were exposed to interruption and molestation when passing on their lawful occasions, accordingly, we, as aforesaid have determined, for ourselves, our heirs and successors, to conclude together a lasting and inviolable peace from this time forth in perpetuity.
Taken from Britain and Saudi Arabia, 1925-1939: the Imperial Oasis, by Clive Leatherdale
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Meg%202%3A%20The%20Trench
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Suggested picnic spots
Abu Dhabi
Umm Al Emarat Park
Yas Gateway Park
Delma Park
Al Bateen beach
Saadiyaat beach
The Corniche
Zayed Sports City
Dubai
Kite Beach
Zabeel Park
Al Nahda Pond Park
Mushrif Park
Safa Park
Al Mamzar Beach Park
Al Qudrah Lakes
The essentials
What: Emirates Airline Festival of Literature
When: Friday until March 9
Where: All main sessions are held in the InterContinental Dubai Festival City
Price: Sessions range from free entry to Dh125 tickets, with the exception of special events.
Hot Tip: If waiting for your book to be signed looks like it will be timeconsuming, ask the festival’s bookstore if they have pre-signed copies of the book you’re looking for. They should have a bunch from some of the festival’s biggest guest authors.
Information: www.emirateslitfest.com
