Queen Elizabeth's finances are having a royally good year
Queen Elizabeth II will be receiving an income boost next year.
Thanks to record annual earnings from the Crown Estate, the property company that's owned by the Crown, the queen's income will rise by more than 5 percent next year, according to the BBC.
The Crown Estate said the value of its assets reached 9.4 billion pounds, or about $16 billion, for the first time, thanks to rising commercial property values in the U.K. Every shop owned by the Crown Estate in London's West End was rented, with tenants ranging from J. Crew to Osprey. That helped provide a record return to the country's Treasury, with the Crown Estate's income rising almost 6 percent to 267.1 million pounds.
"This record performance shows that from the heartlands of our real estate business to our investment offshore, we're truly at our best when we're actively managing," said Crown Estate chief executive Alison Nimmo.
The Crown Estate also said its offshore wind portfolio boosted revenue by 46 percent, as the management firm opened the world's largest offshore wind farm, London Array.
For Queen Elizabeth, the boost comes at a time when spending on the royal family's property maintenance has surged, due to projects including a renovation of the Kensington Palace apartment where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will have their official residence. That work required 3.4 million pounds, or about $5.8 million, according to an annual report published by the Sovereign Grant this week.
Some have criticized the spending on Kensington Palace as too lavish, although the Sovereign Grant report said the apartment was "in a state of some disrepair." Still, reports have focused on what may be seen as extravagance by some, such as the installation of a second kitchen.
British taxpayers also underwrote travel costs of 4.2 million pounds, or $7.2 million, for the royal family, which one London publication said included expenses that were "eye-wateringly high," such as 255,000 pounds ($434,000) for Prince Charles to travel to Nelson Mandela's funeral.
Overall, the royal family cost British taxpayers 35.7 million pounds ($60.8 million) for the year ended March 31, 2014, or a 5.7 percent rise from a year earlier.