Queen Camilla will not receive her own annuity from Parliament, it has been confirmed. This is despite the previous consort, the late Duke of Edinburgh, being paid nearly £360,000 to fund his official duties.
A report into the royal household’s finances confirmed Camilla's activities will be met by the Sovereign Grant instead, and she will not be given a separate payment.
The UK's independent public spending watchdog's Royal Household spending and accountability report, published on Friday, examined the funding structures of the royal family as part of the National Audit Office's (NAO) work to improve transparency.
It stated: "Parliament provided Prince Philip with a separate annuity worth £359,000 per annum. Queen Camilla will not receive a separate annuity and the Queen's activities will be funded from the Grant."
The late Duke of Edinburgh – Queen Elizabeth II's consort - continued to receive the sum each year despite a change in the way the royal family's activities were paid for by the taxpayer.
The old-style Civil List – where the late Queen was given a payment and a number of grants from the government to cover official expenses – was replaced by the Sovereign Grant, based on a percentage of the Crown Estate's profits.
But the new 2011 legislation kept a provision for Philip, who retired in 2017 and died in 2021, to carry on receiving his annuity for his lifetime.
He was mentioned by name in the retained section of the previous Civil List Act 1952 therefore the annuity is not transferable to Camilla, and new legislation would be needed to give her the funds.
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© GettyThe report also highlighted that the King's schedule is likely to be far busier than the late Queen's and could therefore have an impact on future funding.
"Each king and queen has their own interests and priorities which affect their schedule of event," it said. "Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II had cut back on events and travel in recent years, in part because of the global Covid-19 pandemic. It can be reasonably assumed that the King will be hosting more events and travelling to more engagements within the UK, and overseas at the request of the government."
© GettyBut the NAO suggested there would be enough money from the Sovereign Grant to meet any extra costs.
"These changes may affect spending profiles but would be within available funding from the Grant," it said.
Buckingham Palace is currently undergoing a ten-year reservicing programme to upgrade cabling, plumbing and heating, and is budgeted to cost £369 million.
© GettyA total of £185.1 million has been spent on the restoration project between 2017 and 2023, the report said, echoing figures which appeared in the Sovereign Grant annual accounts last month.
The NAO said its Comptroller and Auditor General will produce a value-for-money audit report next year on the major works.
It added: "The Royal Household told us that the project is on track and is not expected to go over budget."
Plans for an external visitor centre at Buckingham Palace have, however, been abandoned, with rising costs due to inflation affecting the royal household.
Earlier this year, it was confirmed that the King has asked for profits from a £1 billion-a-year Crown Estate wind farm deal to be used for the "wider public good" rather than as a funding boost for the monarchy.
