Queen to give up right to manage the palace’s financial affairs

Tough terms have been set on how she can spend the 38.2 mn pounds given by Parliament each year.

Queen Elizabeth II has been forced to give up the power to manage her financial affairs in a secret deal in 2006,giving the British government control over the monarch’s public wealth,a media report said on Thursday.

The ‘financial memorandum’ formalising the relationship between the Queen and the ministers also sets out tough terms on how the Queen can spend the 38.2 million pounds handed over by Parliament each year to pay for her staff and occupied palaces.

The secret deal was signed by palace aides and the government,’The Independent’ reported on Thursday. The document,disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act,grants ministers the constitutional right to take over the direct management of the Queen’s public wealth in the event of a disagreement over how the subsidy is awarded or spent.

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According to constitutional experts,the memorandum could be used by ministers to force the Queen to cut back on her spending or even make her fall back on her considerable private wealth.

The deal follows disputes between the palace and the government over the growing costs and management of public money given to the Royal family.

Paul Flynn,MP,a member of the House of Commons Public Administration Committee,said: “Someone appears to have gone to extraordinary lengths to protect the Royal family from public scrutiny. The more information we have about the public subsidy paid to the Queen,the more confidence will we have in the institution.

“The Royal family is part of the dependency culture of Britain in the same way that Cameron spoke about people living in a council house accommodation for life.”

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The memorandum lists 70 clauses dictating the financial relationship between the Queen and the government.

A key clause declares: “in the event of any irreconcilable differences over the interpretation of this financial memorandum or the memorandum of understanding,the Secretary of State shall be entitled to cease payment of grant-in-aid and take over directly the execution of her responsibility for the provision of property services for the occupied Royal palaces,funding for Royal communications,and provision of property and guard services for Marlborough House.