Queen Elizabeth II’s UK tourist income falls 53% in Covid-19 pandemic

British taxpayers funded the Queen to the tune of 85.9 million pounds in 2020-21, the royal accounts show.

Queen Elizabeth II’s income was hit hard by the Covid pandemic as lockdowns and travel restrictions led to a 53% decline in takings from tourists visiting royal palaces.

The queen’s official expenditure is paid for by the British public in exchange for the surrender of the revenue from the Crown Estate -- lands traditionally held by the monarch. (AFP)

Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle in England alongside the Palace of Holyrood House in Scotland are among the royal residences which would usually be open to visitors. Mothballing them cut the sovereign’s income to 9.4 million pounds ($13.1 million) in 2020-21 from 20.2 million pounds a year earlier, according to annual accounts published Thursday.

British taxpayers funded the Queen to the tune of 85.9 million pounds in 2020-21, the royal accounts show. Of that, 51.5 million pounds went toward official travel, property maintenance and the operating costs of the monarch’s household. An additional 34.4 million pounds went toward renovating Buckingham Palace in London.

The queen’s official expenditure is paid for by the British public in exchange for the surrender of the revenue from the Crown Estate -- lands traditionally held by the monarch.