Where are the cries over this 'waste of taxpayers' money'?

The Queen will receive an extra £3 million next year, as her taxpayer-funded Sovereign Grant rises 6.5 per cent to £45.6 million in 2017/18.

The grant, brought in by George Osborne in 2011, increases at 15 per cent of profits the Queen gets from the Crown Estate, and by law can never drop below the previous year.

Republic, which campaigns for an elected head of state, called for the fund to be scrapped after the rise was announced in the Palace’s annual report today.

Graham Smith, CEO of Republic, said:

‘Royal funding is a scandal. The Sovereign Grant is a disgrace. To peg public funding to Crown Estate profits makes no sense and only serves to line the pockets of the royal family. The Sovereign Grant has already increased 38 per cent in five years – now it’s going up again without any need or justification.

Meanwhile, as the Times reports, the royal family spent £39.8 million in 2015/16, up 11.5 per cent on the previous year.

Prince Charles, whose land in the Duchy of Cornwall earned him £20,467,000 (up 3.1 per cent since last year), spent £74,500 on a charter flight to Turkey for the centenary of the Gallipoli campaign, and £33,249 on a two-day trip on the royal train.

Princess Anne spent £12,379 on a charter flight to Glasgow for a Scottish fiddle concert.

Sir Alan Reid, keeper of the privy purse, claimed ‘One pound out of every four pounds that we spend comes from income we generated ourselves, rather than from the taxpayer.’

Or to put this another way, 75 per cent comes from the taxpayer.

Graham Smith called for the monarchy’s cost to be ‘stripped right back’ with a budget agreed by parliament each year.

He added:

‘With the country under such immense economic pressure and public spending being squeezed it is disgraceful that the Queen keeps taking more and more of the taxpayers’ money.’

Adam Barnett is staff writer for Left Foot Forward. Follow him on Twitter @AdamBarnett13

See: The Queen’s 90th birthday is a reminder of how monarchy curbs democracy

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