Menu
UK Parliament

MPs consider the finances of the Monarchy

1 July 2011 (updated on 1 July 2011)

Image of UK Parliament portcullis

Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, moved a motion in the House of Commons on Thursday 30 June on the Civil List.

On 20 October 2010 the Chancellor announced that, from 2013, the Civil List system for funding the Royal family would be replaced by a new sovereign support grant linked to the revenue of the Crown Estate.

The Civil List

The Civil List is the amount of money provided by Parliament to meet the official expenses of the Royal Household. The money enables Her Majesty The Queen to carry out her role as Head of State and Head of the Commonwealth. The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh are the only members of the Royal Family to receive an annual parliamentary allowance.

Watch and read the debate and the views expressed by MPs on Parliament TV and in Commons Hansard.

The House of Commons Library have produced a briefing paper on the finances of the Monarchy.

Sovereign Grant Bill

The House of Commons passed a Resolution that;

  1. new provision be made for, or in connection with, the financial support of the Sovereign and of the heir to the throne;
  2. any sums payable in respect of provision so made should be payable out of money provided by Parliament;
  3. provision be made enabling the continuation, in the reigns of Her Majesty’s successors, of the payment of the hereditary revenues of the Crown as directed under section 1 of the Civil List Act 1952;
  4. provision be made about allowances and pensions under the Civil List Acts of 1837 and 1952;
  5. any sums payable in respect of such allowances and pensions by virtue of any provision so made should be charged on the Consolidated Fund;
  6. it is expedient to amend the law relating to the financial support of members of the Royal Household.

In response to the passing of the Resolution, the Government presented the Sovereign Grant Bill to Parliament.

Keep up to date with all the proceedings and latest documentation on the Sovereign Grant Bill. Also find out how a Bill becomes an Act of Parliament.

Further information

Further information about the Civil List and the Sovereign Grant Bill can be found on the British Monarchy and HM Treasury websites.

Related news