Queen Elizabeth is getting a whopping £42.8M salary increase; here are the reasons

Queen Elizabeth, who just turned 90 years old, is set to earn £42.8 million (AU$76.2 million) more. Due to a huge rise of the Estate in the past year, the royal will be enjoying a hefty sum.

Telegraph wrote that the Queen may enjoy a 6.5 percent increase in her taxpayer-funded income, amounting to £45.6 million. This means that the total rise amounted to 47 percent in a span of only five years. (£1 = AU$1.8)

Traditionally, Queen Elizabeth II is given 15 percent of the total profit of the Crown Estate in the past two financial years. The rising profits will have the Queen receive £42.8 million the current financial year. She received £40.1 million (AU$70.9 million) last year. However, the Estate grew to a record £304.1 million in the past year, allowing her to enjoy a significantly higher sum of about £45.6 million for the financial year 2017-2018.

Vanity Fair reported that the prime minister and Sir Alan Reid, the Keeper of the Privy Purse, are set to review the funding formula soon, which will likely reduce the 15 percent, although the total cannot dip below £42.8 million, which the Queen receives this year.

She earned £54 million total in 2015-2016, with £40.1 million coming from the taxpayer and £13.9 million from property rental and fees for the use of royal buildings and facilities during functions. The expenses totalled £53.7 million, which went to staff wages, maintenance of royal properties and travel.

Buckingham Palace provided figures showing that the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall’s visit to the Balkans in March 2016 was the most expensive trip by a member of the royal family in the past year, amounting to £94,409. Prince Charles took another trip to Turkey to attend the battle of Gallipoli centenary, totaling £74,500.

Furthermore, engineers will reportedly close the Royal Train permanently within five to 10 years. The train costs £600,000 to maintain annually, exclusive of actual trip expenses.

Brexit is also expected to impact the income of the royal family members in the coming years. One royal insider shared that they are still observing the situation very closely and waiting to see what happens next.