Cost of the crown part 2: duchies, diamonds and
Dalís
Today in
Focus Series
Presented by Maeve McClenaghan with Rob Evans, David
Pegg, Henry Dyer and Greg Wood; produced by Lucy Hough and Rudi Zygadlo;
executive producer Phil Maynard
Tue 2 May
2023 03.00 BSTLast modified on Tue 2 May 2023 09.30 BST
Any attempt
to understand the extent of royal wealth will need to account for the value of
their land and their most valuable treasures. Maeve McClenaghan sets off to
uncover what is held by the crown and what belongs to the family privately
Alongside
the sovereign grant, the main source of royal income is the property empire
that the family passes down through the generations. The duchies of Lancaster
and Cornwall provide millions of pounds annually to the monarch and his male
heir. As the Guardian’s Rob Evans tells Maeve McClenaghan, it is not simple to
find out exactly how much money this land holding has generated for them, but
through painstaking research and careful reading of the accounts filed in the
House of Lords, a picture emerges. Since the queen took the throne in 1952, the
duchies have provided £1.2bn in income for the family, when adjusted for
inflation.
On top of
the duchies, the family also has huge wealth tied up in treasures: art, jewels,
racehorses – even a stamp collection worth approximately £100m. Reporters David
Pegg, Henry Dyer and Greg Wood go out across the country to track down lists of
items held by royal collections. Looking closer at some of these possessions
reveals an interesting common theme: in several cases it becomes clear that the
line is blurred between what is owned by the sovereign on behalf of the nation
and what is owned by them personally.
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