Queen in line for £3m pay rise unless sovereign grant reviewed

Annual Treasury payments to the Royal family rise to £43m, up 38% since 2012

The Queen and Prince Philip at Royal Ascot, part of the Crown Estate (Getty)

The amount of money the Treasury gives the Royal Family each year is to be reviewed. after it was revealed the Queen could be in line for a £3m pay hike.

The payments from the grant come from record profits made by the Crown Estate land and property portfolio.

The Royal Family currently receives 15% of the profits from the Crown Estate, which amounted to £42.8m this year, and would rise to over £45.6m in 2017, as the grant is paid two years in arrears.

The Crown Estate’s extensive property portfolio, which includes Ascot racecourse and Regent Street and St. James’s in London, has grown by almost 10% year-on year to a record £12.9bn, and the estate made a profit of £304m, up almost 7% since last year.

All profits go to the Treasury, with the sovereign grant returning money to the Queen. Any unspent money is held in a reserve fund.

The system is to come under scrutiny as the amount of money the Royal family has received has soared in recent years.

The Queen has seen a 38% rise in payments through the Sovereign Grant since 2012, from £31m in 2012 to almost £43m in 2016.

The system is reviewed every five years by the government and a representative for the Royal Family.

Over 2015-16, over £16m was spent on the maintenance of royal palaces and other buildings, a rise of almost 40% since last year, as buildings on the Crown Estate have deteriorated.

This includes Buckingham Palace, which will undergo essential refurbishment. Princess Anne was hit by falling masonry in 2009, and large parts of the palace have not been repaired or decorated since the Queen came to the throne 64 years ago.