Queen set for £5 million rise in funding

QUEEN Elizabeth II has been given a £5 million boost in the annual funds she receives from taxpayers to carry out her official duties, pay her staff and maintain the royal palaces.

The Sovereign Grant has been set at £36.1 million for the 2013/14 financial year, compared to £31 million allocated during the past year.

The new fund - which equates to 15 per cent of Crown Estate profits - came into effect at the start of this week, replacing a royal funding system that has survived for centuries.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman stressed today that the grant is in fact 15 per cent lower, in real terms, than the royal household’s expenditure five years ago.

Last year, accounts showed that the cost of supporting the monarchy rose slightly to £32.3 million over the course of 2011 and 2012.