Thaindian News

London, July 21 (ANI): The global financial meltdown has affected Queen Elizabeth equally with the value of her private estate plummeting by 19 per cent because of a crash in the property market and shares.

Her Duchy of Lancaster estate, which provides an income for the monarch that she uses to pay allowances to other members of the Royal Family including Princes Andrew and Edward, along with Princess Anne, fell in value from 399 million pounds to 322 million pounds in accounts published on Monday.

But by cutting costs and with careful management she still increased her annual profit from the Duchy, a 46,000-acre estate that has provided an income for the sovereign since Henry IV established it in 1399, the Daily Express reported.

Her surplus, which goes into the Privy Purse and is used to pay for many of her family’s official duties not covered by Government grants, rose by 5.4 per cent from 12.6 million pounds to 13.3 million pounds in the financial year ending on March 31.

Lord Shuttleworth, chairman of the Duchy’s council, said: “We have ­suffered a substantial fall in the ­capital value of our assets during the year, principally in the commercial property and financial investment portfolios.”

In its report, the Duchy detailed how its financial portfolio dropped by 26.2 per cent in value after across-the-board losses in stocks, shares and other investments.

It saw the value of its commercial property drop 23.6 per cent amid a dramatic fall in demand for office space.

The Queen, who received 41.5 million pounds from taxpayers last year to support her work as head of state, has increasingly had to dip into the Privy Purse to pay for her family’s official duties. (ANI)