KING’S CORONATION: Does the UK Economy benefit from the Royal family?
THE KING’S CORONATION AND THE MONARCHY’S IMPACT ON THE UK ECONOMY
The first coronation since 1953 will be hosted in London on Saturday 6 May. You might be preparing to join a street party, raise a glass and watch events unfold on television – or just enjoy a break from work on the extra bank holiday gifted to us for this special celebration.
WHAT’S HAPPENING OVER THE CORONATION WEEKEND?
You can find full details of all the events and when they’ll happen on the official website: https://www.royal.uk/coronation-weekend-plans-announced
DOES THE ECONOMY BENEFIT FROM THE ROYAL FAMILY?
Whether the monarchy pays its way or not has long been a hotly debated issue. According to Forbes Magazine, the House of Windsor is estimated to be worth £19 billion ($28 billion) and before the coronavirus pandemic, the Royal Family contributed approximately £1.9 billion per year to the economy – far eclipsing the Sovereign Grants awarded. (The Sovereign Grant is the funding provided by the Government to support the King’s official duties, staffing, travel and maintenance to the Occupied Royal Palaces.)
Measuring the value of a brand is no easy task and, in this case especially, accurate figures are difficult to source. However, it is hard to deny that the Royal Family contributes considerable financial value to the UK economy through its influence across trade, tourism, media, real estate and heritage sites, foreign investment, the arts and more. We’ve expanded on a few of these areas below.
The Crown Estate
This vast portfolio of land and property belongs to the reigning monarch “in right of the crown” but is not their private property. The monarch surrenders the revenue from the estate to the Treasury each year for the benefit of the nation’s finances, in exchange for the Sovereign Grant.
The revenue from the Crown Estate is worth more than £312m a year. The total value of its properties swelled by 8.3% last year at £15.6bn. The current value of owned seabed rights is estimated at £5bn, and six recently awarded offshore wind power generation licences could generate up to £9bn over the next 10 years
Tourism
A record 3,285,000 people visited official royal residences in 2019-20, generating approximately £49.8 million. Gift shop sales took the total income just over £71.5 million.
According to Statista, the total number of admissions to the Crown Estate in the United Kingdom increased in 2021/2022, after dropping sharply in the previous fiscal year due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Overall, Crown Estate locations recorded around 737 thousand visits between April 2021 and March 2022, a significant growth from 2020/2021. This is still below pre-pandemic levels but it’s fair to assume that the Coronation celebration is likely to boost the numbers this year.
Major royal events such as the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, subsequent funeral and King’s Coronation also attract tourists to the UK who then spend money with UK businesses. For example, Eurostar train bookings increased by 28% before the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s royal wedding.
Royal-themed products and the arts
Memorabilia, royal-themed food, copycat royal clothes and other goods (estimated by some as worth tens of millions of pounds ), as well as TV shows such as Netflix’s The Crown.
Trade
the royal brand supports UK products both directly, through royal warrants (trademarks granted by the royal family), and indirectly, such as when members of the royal family attend industry events at home and overseas.
Tax
In 2018, the Crown Estate paid £329m to the treasury in land/property tax alone.
If you’d like to see how the Royal Family spend their money, check out the 2021-22 Sovereign Grant report. However you feel about the monarchy, we hope you have a brilliant extended bank holiday for the King’s Coronation!
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