How much is the royal family worth?

0:02There is much we do not know about the royal family and recently eyes have turned towards the firm's property portfolio and their finances. So how valuable are the royal family as an entity and how valuable are they to Britain? Hi and welcome back to the Standard Podcast. I'm Tamara Kormornyk. If you're new here, hit follow and give us a rating. For all the latest news, head to standard.co.uk. Coming up, how much are the royal family worth?

0:38Over the weekend, the last batch of evidence from the Epstein files was released to the public by the US Department of Justice. This included a photo of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former prince and friend of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, crouching on all fours over an unnamed woman. While King Charles' decision to strip Andrew of his title late last year was met with widespread approval, It also sparked questions over the royal's living arrangements, the Crown's property empire, and, inevitably, their finances. In today's episode, I speak to Chris Blackhurst, a strategic communications advisor and former editor of The Independent, who recently wrote a piece for The Standard on the staggering wealth of the Crown.

1:21I wanted to hear his PR advice on how the royal family might navigate this tricky period, and the ways they might earn back the public's trust and admiration.

1:35Chris, thank you so much for joining me on The Standard Podcast. Very, very happy to be taking part. So I want to start by asking you roughly, because we're talking in estimates here, because it's very difficult to know. But according to your research and your knowledge, how wealthy are the British royal family? it's a question that has occupied the minds of many people the short answer is we just don't know and that's because so much of what the royal family owns is secret is private is completely opaque we can't penetrate it we don't know exactly how their finances work we can give an estimates as to how much they cost the cost of running the royal family is about 500 million a year i mean that includes everything the properties we know i mean again i almost hesitate to say this it's the properties we know about and their lifestyles and their security and everything that goes with that and the claims they make on the state but if you look at the the duchy of Cornwall, Duchy of Lancaster.

2:55I mean, they're worth billions. The Crown Estates, which owns estates all over the country, country estates, owns large parts of probably the most uber-prime area of London, or one of them. I mean, there's Mayfair, obviously, but there's also St. James', which includes German Street, Pall Mall, etc., etc. I mean, fantastic buildings. And they've got estates all over the world and properties all over the world. I think they're worth several billion pounds, and I always have done. But asking me to put a precise figure on that is impossible. Anyone who says they know, unless they're King Charles or his accountant, anyone else, they don't know.

3:44So in your recent article for The Standard, you used an analogy of the Monopoly board when talking about the royal family's property portfolio. Yeah, look, I use the monopoly analogy because when you play a monopoly, you know, you land on a square and you say, pretty much, I'll have it. And you find that the monopoly board, you know, it's all spoken for. And every time you land on it, I mean, it's a way of making money. What there isn't on this Monopoly board are Whitechapel and Old Kent Road. I mean, they're the poor relations on the Monopoly board. I'm not sure what would count in that sense.

4:29I mean, there are so many cottages and so many properties in the royal lineup. I mean, there are seven residences, and that's really what there should be. You've got Princess Anne's, Edward's, I don't know what we think, where Andrew, you know, where he fits in anymore, Charles, etc. You add it up, it comes to seven. But there are actually, all together, Norman Baker, the Lib Dem politician, he's done a very good book on this and totted them all up. There are 272. Now, some of those are small, small cottages. But, you know, you have to sort of pinch yourself. You know, if you take Andrew, we're invited to look at the hardship that he's enduring by moving to a house on the Sandringham Estate.

5:19It might need a lick of paint and doing up a bit. But for most people, that would be a fantastic country residence. And it's being treated as though he's somehow slumming it with the peasants. Well, he isn't. And that's what it's like. And the other aspect of Monopoly the Game is it's a game and there's a sense of unreality. Well, I would say there's a sense of unreality with the royals and where they live. There really is. On the topic of Andrew and the peppercorn rent that really kicked this whole investigation off. What's happened here, Charles, and probably with the encouragement of William, has stripped Andrew of his titles and booted him out of the house in Windsor.

6:14Now, that is sensational. I mean, this is the second son of Elizabeth and Philip, and he's being treated in this way. It is a public humiliation. It's a defenestration. And because of the relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and the murkiness of that, and Epstein being a convicted sex offender, I mean, everyone really was very applauding of Charles and, as I say, William and probably others in the royal family, as they call it, the firm, who are very conscious of their PR and their public image. So it's great. bad for Andrew but well you know he's made his own bed literally and there it is and so well done well done Charles big move heading off criticism etc etc but there is a downside for Charles for William and for the other members of the royal family which is the unintended consequence of this is that it has put the spotlight very firmly on their properties and on their finances.

7:27And there's now going to be, or it's started, a National Audit Office inquiry into those properties. Charles unwittingly, and this isn't a criticism, because he was in a difficult place with Andrew, but what's happened is that he may well have opened a Pandora's box and the Pandora's box may be all sorts of revelations. Edward and Sophie, why are they living in a 120-room extravaganza in Windsor Great Park that was once going to be a conference centre? You know, there was a lot of publicity about William and Kate's forever home in Windsor, their new place. Well, you know, look at that forever home.

8:15It's huge. Now, okay, he's the future king, but does it have to be so big? You look at other royal families around the world, maybe not in some countries, but you look at royal families in Europe, many of them, several of them, and they follow very different lifestyles. We'll take a quick break. Coming up, I asked Chris about what he makes of the argument that the royal family as an institution boosts the economy through tourism, and whether he thinks coming clean about their finances is worth the risk.

9:00Welcome back. Let's head straight back to my chat with Chris. What do you make of the argument that the royal family as an institution contribute to the UK economy? Recent research has shown that the annual contribution to the UK economy could be 1.7 billion. How does this affect your view when talking about on balance what the royal family costing the taxpayer versus what the royal family as an institution puts back into the economy um listen i buy that argument i mean you know right now in the mall there will be crowds of people standing outside buckingham palace looking through the railings um there'll be people wandering around having their pictures taken and if it's the changing of the guards there's a big crowd foreign tourists overseas tourists but also british tourists as well to have some connection with the royal family and to see them a lot of those people look let's be honest they're not coming to see edwards and sophie and they're not coming to see the ducan duchess of gloucester you know or princess alice i mean they're just not who are they really seeing what what's it about they like to see the buildings you know it's a draw but you know i think we have to weigh the cost up i mean in in business terms it's known as a cost benefit analysis and i'm not sure if we get value for money from the wider family and the way this is always couched is the royal family bring this income in?

10:43And what I'm saying is, yes, but is it the royal family or is it just the king, the queen, and the heir to the throne? Are they the ones who bring the money in? I mean, do the rest really bring money in? I don't believe they do. And they're also involved in a lot of commercial interests and are feathering their nests that way as well. And I do think the Andrew Epstein episode, it is a watershed moment. How do you suggest the royal family tread the line between being open and transparent about finances but also not upsetting the nation? Well, it's a very good question because it's very easy for me to shout and say, be open, be transparent about your finances.

11:39There might be things in there that they do not want to be open and transparent about. And that's the great danger for them, that if they lay it all bare, and it is bare, there's nothing kept back, nothing held back, nothing that's sort of down some dark recess. But if they say, this is what we've got, this is effectively what we're worth, make your own mind up. Well, that'd be great. And if I was advising William on his PR, I'd be saying that's the way to go. But that's based on me not knowing. And I don't know if William knows. I'm not saying they're dishonest, but they need to be more open about what they do and how they earn their money.

12:26And then I think that trust that we so badly want can be rebuilt. Lastly, Chris, in your article, you mentioned David Dimbleby and his documentary series highlighting the vast wealth of the royals and how opaque their funding and finances are. The series is called What is the Monarchy for? To wrap up our conversation, I'd like to ask you the same question. In your view, what is the monarchy for? I've thought a lot about this over the years and I must admit I've gone both ways you know there's a bit of me that has thought it should be done away with altogether but then I thought for but what would you replace them with would you have elected politicians well the issue there is that our views of elected politicians are somewhat diminished and continue to diminish or do you have a national treasure should David Attenborough be king.

13:30I think in terms of the constitution, where they sit is very important. We were blessed, in a sense, with Queen Elizabeth II, who was on the throne for more than 50 years, who was absolutely masterly in being detached but engaged, if I can put it like that. She didn't interfere. She made her views known in private and very occasionally in public. But she steered this superb course of remaining outside things, but being inside as well. And the admiration and respect for her, and she was, to use this somewhat corny phrase, she was the mother of the nation now if you take Charles Charles has got his passions has got his interests isn't afraid to write letters to people letting rip or letting them know his views so I'm in favor of what a lot of the things he says particularly on climate change and things like that but it's dangerous in the sense that it's divisive and you know you are going into an area where there are two sets of views, maybe more, and you're upsetting people.

14:54And it's very difficult ground. The question is, what is the royal family for? As an institution that is respected as the figurehead of the nation, it's not as respected, not as admired as it was. and if that continued then they're in massive massive danger and you know it can't slip much further than where it is at the moment they have to get that back they have to win our trust and our authority now they've to an extent they might have done it with Andrew but the Andrew thing still rumbles on you know woe betide there are some further scandals involving other members of the royal family or something to do with their finances they can't take much more of this yes there is a role as the institution that binds together our society it's been there throughout our history it binds us together but you know we treat them with deference they have to treat it with deference thank you so much for your time today chris thanks thank you and that's the standard For all the latest news, head to standard.co.uk If you'd like to get in touch, email us at podcasts at standard.co.uk We'll be back here tomorrow morning.

16:18See you then.