Before you read
Subject: ？News that the Crown Estate returned record profits of ?285m last year means the Queen is expected to receive a further ?2m in public funding next year
Excerpt: English text from the archived bilingual edition · Chinese edition
Reference text and retained source material
？News that the Crown Estate returned record profits of ?285m last year means the Queen is expected to receive a further ?2m in public funding next year. But just how rich is the Queen and where does her wealth come from?
According to the Sunday Times Rich List 2015, her estimated fortune is ?340m, up ?10m from last year
What is known about the Queen's wealth can be broadly divided between her private income and funding given to her, as the reigning monarch, by the government
The Crown Estate owns Ascot race course.The main source of the Queen's public income comes from the Sovereign Grant - a fixed percentage of the profits made by the Crown Estate
The Crown Estate dates back to 1760 when George III reached an agreement with the government that surplus revenue from the crown's lands would go to the Treasury
Under the current funding arrangement, all profits from the estate are paid to the Treasury and 15% of this money is then given to the Queen
This funding is known as the Sovereign Grant and is used to support the Queen in her official duties.Last year the Sovereign Grant was ?37.9m - of which the Queen spent ?35.7m. That money pays for staffing costs, property maintenance, travel, utilities and housekeeping, among other things
The privy purse is a private income for the Queen, which is primarily used to pay for expenses incurred by other members of the Royal Family
Funds for the privy purse come mostly from the Duchy of Lancaster, a portfolio of land, property and assets owned by the Queen which is managed separately from the Crown Estate
The extent of the Queen's private income is less well known.According to the Sunday Times, she has an investment portfolio consisting largely of shares in blue-chip British companies, which it valued at ?110m
The Queen also owns personal property including Sandringham House in Norfolk, Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire and other smaller houses
Other personal goods include the royal stamp collection, art, jewels, cars, horses and the Queen Mother's legacy, which all add to her personal fortune.It is kept between a number of locations, such as Hampton Court Palace and Windsor Castle
Language and reading: using this material
Compare wording, tone and information order across complete passages. Positions, prices, policies, exams and statistics retain their original context and should be verified before practical use.
