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Queen Elizabeth: It's about millions
Photo: Chris Jackson / AP
The royal family is always silent about how much money the Queen and her family members have privately.
But part of the royal finances is publicly visible - and will probably increase drastically in the future.
The reason for this is a wind farm deal in which German companies are also involved.
The energy companies EnBW and RWE recently announced that they had prevailed in the bidding dispute for coveted areas for offshore wind farms off the British coast.
Great Britain is currently expanding its renewable energy sources: Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants to make the country a pioneer in green energy, by 2030 all households are to be supplied with electricity from offshore wind farms.
A total of four areas were now advertised; apart from the German groups, two financial investors were successful.
This means: in future, companies will pay the equivalent of around one billion euros to London - each year during the option period of up to ten years, during which the bidders can make a final investment decision.
Renovations for £ 369 million
What does this have to do with the Queen?
The ocean floor off the British coast officially belongs to the Crown.
The royal family is one of the largest landowners in the UK, the system is a historical holdover.
With the leasing of the crown lands, the monarchs improved their coffers for centuries.
The members of the royal family do not benefit directly from this income.
The loan administrator responsible for this, Crown Estate, is a corporation under public law - the proceeds go to the state.
However, 25 percent of the profit finances the royals as a so-called sovereign grant.
This is used to pay for state trips, but also for the preservation of the lands and the renovation of the castles.
For example, work is currently underway inside the Buckingham Palace in London.
Electric lines, heating pipes, water pipes - everything has to be replaced.
Construction time: ten years.
Cost: £ 369 million.
Such sums do not come together so quickly.
The sovereign grant for the 2020/2021 financial year, which is calculated from the 2018/2019 revenues, is £ 85.9 million, as announced by the British government.
It could be lower for the following financial years: The royals' income had recently suffered from Brexit and the corona pandemic.
Because of the exit from the EU, around hundreds of thousands of euros in agricultural aid are lost.
And because of the pandemic, no more visitors come to the castles.
According to one estimate, this means that there are no entry fees in the millions.
The wind farm deal comes in handy.
The option fee alone would add up to £ 220 million a year for the krona.
At least, as long as the sovereign grant is not lowered in the revision scheduled for 2022.
In addition, the energy companies would actually have to pay the option fees for years.
But they want to avoid that.
The British energy giant BP, which has teamed up with EnBW on a project, has already announced that it will make a decision much earlier and commission the turbines.
Then the Crown Estate would only receive a "rental fee" of two percent of the wind farm's turnover.
Either way: In the end, this should ensure that the royal family doesn't have to live in crumbling palaces.
Icon: The mirror
zob / dpa
