While the British Finance Minister announced, Thursday, September 24, measures to support the country's economy, the royal family has, for its part, published its expenditure for the past year and said to anticipate financial difficulties due to the coronavirus . A hole in the finances linked to the drop in attendance at royal residences over the next three years and which will have repercussions on long-term spending to restore Buckingham Palace.
This annual exercise of transparency, which involves astronomical amounts, is always a bad time to pass for the royal family, but it is even more delicate this year due to the devastation of the coronavirus pandemic on the British.
That’s why the Windsors have emphasized that they are preparing to tighten their belts, anticipating a shortfall of around 38 million euros from the coronavirus. However, royalty has no intention of digging further into the taxpayer's wallet and promises to cushion the impact of the pandemic "with its own efforts," assured the Queen's treasurer. The royal house has already frozen salaries and hires and is seeking to cut in its non-essential expenses.
However, the detail of the Windsor lifestyle is likely to trigger little compassion on the part of the subjects of the queen: the family expenses this time amount to 90 million euros, an amount which includes in particular the tour in Africa of Prince Harry and his wife Meghan at a cost of 270,000 euros, making it the most expensive royal trip of the year. The couple unleashed an unprecedented storm a few weeks later when they announced they would give up their royal duties and leave the country to live in the United States.