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Carl Court / AFP - Getty Images
After more than five decades on the throne, view images from the extraordinary life of Queen Elizabeth II.
LONDON - Britain's Queen Elizabeth has another reason to be cheerful in her Diamond Jubilee year - her annual pay is about to jump by 20 percent to 36 million pounds ($56 million).
Her property holdings, known as the Crown Estate, posted a record profit of 240.2 million pounds ($377.4 million), a net rise of 4 percent in the year through March 2012 largely due to strong tenant demand for its shops in the upmarket Regent Street and St James's districts of London.
At a time when Britain is in recession and many families are feeling the pinch of higher household costs and taxes, the Queen's allowance will rise to 36 million pounds from 30 million pounds, the level at which it was frozen in October 2010 under new laws which peg her pay to the estate's profits.
Her Majesty celebrates 60 years on the throne.
"It's a great set of results and I'm sure everyone's going to be happy," Crown Estate Chief Executive Alison Nimmo said.
The 85-year-old queen celebrated her 60th year on the throne this month with a 1,000-vessel flotilla on London's River Thames and nationwide street parties.
Read more news about Britain's royal family on TODAY.com
She has been paid by taxpayers through an allowance set by Parliament and via other government grants since King George III ceded all property profits to the Treasury in 1760.
Queen Elizabeth II is celebrating 60 years on the throne. Watch archival footage from her childhood and ascension to the throne to the present day.
The Crown Estate pays all of its profit to the Treasury, or finance ministry. Under new laws that come into effect in 2013-14, the monarch's pay is calculated as 15 percent of the estate's profits from two years prior.
Prince William turns 30, gets $15.5 million Diana inheritance
The changes were designed to ensure the queen's pay would rise and fall with the health of the British economy, which this year entered its second recession since the start of the global financial crisis.
Used mainly to pay the Royal household's staff as well as for items like laundry, stationery and official functions, her 2013-14 pay will be the highest since 2008 though still less than half of her 1991 pay of 77.3 million pounds ($121.2 million).
The Crown Estate, which owns a mix of wind farms, retail parks and most of Britain's seabed in addition to its central London properties, outperformed the industry's Investment Property Databank (IPD) benchmark index due to strong international interest in the London property market and the country's growing dependency on renewable energy.
While more than a century separates festivities marking Queen Elizabeth II's 60 years on the throne from those honoring her predecessor Queen Victoria, surprising similarities connect the commemorations. NBC News' Jim Maceda reports.
The value of its property portfolio rose 7.4 percent to 7.6 billion pounds from the previous year, while the total return, which includes rental income, was 16.8 percent, outperforming the IPD index by 10.4 percentage points.
Its London projects include the 500 million pound ($784 million) regeneration of the St James's district, where it will redevelop almost 300,000 square feet of new shops, offices and homes.
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well isnt about time to remove kings and queens from all the countries in the world ? they do little good and soak up most of the countries wealth were they live, fiefdoms are a long gone concept they are theifdoms now and I dont understand why any country would allow it especially with the world in such bad economic shape, there hogging all the money while children go without food and shoes or proper education....isnt it a pitty ? isnt it a shame ? if they had any concence at all they would each take a few hundred million,retire to there palaces's and donate all the rest of the money and property back to the country they live in and stop sucking there people dry. we have kingdoms here in the states, it's companys here though like goldman sucks..they still get billions of dollars a year from the goverment while they hand out huge bonus's to there top executives....doesnt make any sence if they need a handout from essentullay all of us why does any of them deserve a bonus ? or huge salary.look at who made the bucks off facebook and look who lost a lot.it was the subprime all over again just this time it wasnt housing that was manipulated it was the IPO they manipulated.are we sick of it yet ? or do we need more people in poverty and homless till we take this country back from the "KINGS CALLED GOLDMAN" and "BOA"
I can't stand all the pomp and glory that the Brits shower on this 85 yr. old bag. She is nothing more than a tourist attraction and the Queen doesn't do anything to give back this kind of money to the british people. $56 million is no small change and it is outrageous that the people are taxed to support her super wealthy lifestyle. They must be spiking the tea over there. Same with Will and Kate. I am sick of seeing these two being worshipped by the media.
Yet another comment from the uninformed. If you had bothered to read even a few comments and ever done any research on the topic, you would know that the people are not taxed to support the Queen. She gives money to the government, the government gives a portion of it back to her. It's her money! I'm sick of pontificating from people who choose to know nothing about the topics.
Agree, Rick! These people all spout off after reading the stupid headline. Maybe they can write, but they cannot read?
brits pay over 50 % tax to fund the tudors who were as bad as pol pot in cambodia. how many heads did they take. brits suffer while the royals splurge, I'll never understand it , but then we have our own king here , obumbo thinks he is king of socialist muslim america
Gunny262, "obumbo thinks he is king of socialist muslim america"????? Get a brain you idiot! I love the way you conservative/republicans throw around these terms like "Socialist, Muslim" to slander our President! First of all, YOU live in a country where there's "freedom of religion".....so who cares if he IS Muslim, which he's NOT, but who the hell cares anyway. Mitt Romney is a Mormon......that's probably just fine with you right? Secondly, socialist???? Name ONE thing he's done that's "socialist"???? Healthcare? Wrong! Everyone would have to PAY for it numb nuts. And you idiots who don't want to pay for other peoples health problems could stop paying for it in higher insurance premiums. Those without insurance NOW are STILL getting taken care of but we're PAYING for it anyway. Obama's plan just makes sure everyone is PAYING for health insurance...he gave up the "PUBLIC" option.....SO it gets paid to PRIVATE companies.....even though you are clueless.......at least you can READ..by the way, where did learn to READ & WRITE???? Oh yeah, from our "socialist public school system"....your judgmental ignorance is astounding.....hmmmmm
Well, I mean, she's definitely earned it. Her country is in one of the worst economic states since World War II, a large percentage of the population are illiterate, and just finding a job - let alone one that pays a living wage - is next to impossible. Why is there even still a Monarchy? It is a useless "tradition."
People in England can read! Welfare system has destroyed them! It will be our downfall too!
So much for Austerity! Their "austerity measures" have thrown their economy into a double dip recession which, by the way, WILL have a ripple effect here in the United States. In fact, we're already feeling it. But hey, the multi-billionaire Queen? Give her a raise!! It's deplorable. But what the hec, under a Mitt Romney economic agenda, we'll be right there with them anyway....
Yes because Obama has done so much for our financial growth.
And we thought Obama was overpaid!
"It's good to be the Queen." Misquote from Mel Brook's History of the World, part l.
At the end of the day, I don't see where The Colonies have any room to b##ch. Heck We're burning BILLIONS a day in interest alone on a national debt no one in Washington seems to give a flying fart about. $53-$56 million? Mere chump change.
What a waste of money for the taxpayers...But for whatever reason they seem to love them all.We do the same with all the morons here that supposedly run our country and decide what we will do, or not do...and we pay them big bucks for this....salary, bennies...like lifetime health care for their entire family....pension that is more then one average person makes in their lifetime..Only thing lacking with ours.....is the stupid hand wave......LOL!
Read the article.....taxpayers do NOT pay the Queen. Try reading the article...not just the headline.
Talk about a huge waste!!
Richest welfare recipient in the world. What a freaking joke. Like the 'Pistols wrote: "God save the queen. She ain't no human being..."
Romney and Obamer will probably spend 1.5 billion to get elected this year.
At least the Queen has devoted her life to her country. Wall St. creeps are getting hundreds of millions to hoard monies shadily taken from other people. LONG LIVE THE QUEEN!
Maybe NBC should quit worrying about other countries people and thier finances and start reporting on how the leaders of this country are leading us down the path of ruins. By the way MSNBC, where's the headlines about our crooked, lying attorney general and President. Oh, wait, I forgot, NBC is part of the destruction path. NBC, take note. " You would be surprised how many people think your so called news media is a joke.
Totally mis leading headline about the Queen getting a raise in 'Recession ravaged Britain'. It states that all profits from the crown estates are paid to the Treasury and she gets 15%. If that is true, then that is not tax payer money. Mit Romney only paid 14% tax on his investment profits, she paid 85%.
Why in the world does this spoiled lady get a raise...What on earth does she do???? She does not do f**k, but yet England is so f'n stupid to realize that they have been pampering a spoiled lady and feeding her money for years. It is said that the Queen has to have a wardrobe matching a specific room she will be in and shoes, she has hundreds of them. I feel sorry for England. This spoiled brat of a lady does not desearve @!$%# for nothing she does, except look pretty everywhere she goes.
I thought it was a monarchy but Britain is definitely being run by Republicans - a 20% raise for her and nothing for for everyone else! Long live Austerity!
It's hard to get rid of tradition. The entire commonwealth is Royal this ...Royal that.. as in Royal Air Force etc. The monarchy has no real power, just a figure head so to speak. We talk about the Brits, look at us. we are all a flutter over what Kate is wearing or how hot Pippa is. Shrines everywhere for Diana. If the Brits want to keep it, it's their decision
At least a quarter of the English don't want to keep it. The numbers who don't are even much higher in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
This is why I am disgusted by the number of Americans who glorify these people. Some Americans even still want royalty in America. Shameful dogs.
Go to the White House! Look at the way people love Hollywood music sports they just have different names!
Own land and you can call yourself anything you want, where else you gonna live????????????
The headline immediately following the announcement that the Queen would be getting a nearly $10 million raise states that 1.5 million African children are in danger of starvation. What a sad commentary on royalty. I see why the Founding Fathers revolted.
So we could eventually hire folks in to run the country that could care less about it and more about their pockets.
How absolutely REMARKABLE! You said the Queen has been paid by a tax payer allowance since 1760. Surely, this means she is more than eighty five years old....? How has she tolerated her royal pampering for so very LONG? The answer surely is Prince Phillip!
Those fancy hats and that goofy waive must be the reason why she pulls in the big bucks - because other than that she is useless to mankind
Now that's a gig I need. Welfare in England pays a lot better than in America.
Good point the welfare and immigration has killed the country. Just like the unions in this country did to the auto industry!
The money is not from the people they own land and businesses from the times of Henry the 8th! Now do I believe in Kings or Queens no, but we have had our share including the pampas ass in the White House now! Have you ever been to the WH I mean it's what rich are all about! So when the prez talks about working folks he's not one of them, in fact what jobs has he held?
I believe you mean "pompous" - the "pampas" are grasslands in Argentina, I believe....
Cheap at twice the price!