So which is it? Is Her Majesty spending more or cutting back? It’s an Express report vs. a CNN report.

On July 1st, just days prior to the release of the Royal budget, royal reporter Richard Palmer stated in his Express blog that the Queen’s spending had gone way up in the past year.

Draft figures which will form the basis of her annual financial report, due to be published on Monday, show that her Civil List spending as head of state has risen by 2.1 per cent in a year – and 4.9 per cent if you include exceptional items.

CNN reports on Buckingham Palace’s statement on Monday, July 5th:

Queen Elizabeth II’s annual budget this year is £38.2 million ($57.8 million), down from £41.5 million ($62.8 million) last year, Buckingham Palace announced Monday.

“Her annual spending has fallen by 17 percent in real terms since 2001,” the palace stated.

The British government covers the budget only for the Queen and her husband through the Civil List. Other members of the Royal Family are funded by the Parliamentary Annuity. In exchange, the Queen reimburses the government with the income from the Duchy of Lancaster, the monarch’s personal property. Would it be possible, then, for the senior members of the Royal Family (save for Prince Charles) to live off of the income from royal holdings alone?

Any accountants out there?

Who is keeping one’s books? Is the budget more or less?