The British business sector has announced that it will honor the period of national mourning for Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away on Thursday, in a series of measures that have a real impact on the economy. The “Bank of England”, the central bank of Great Britain, announced that it is postponing the meeting planned for next Thursday, in which it was expected to announce a sharp increase in interest rates in an attempt to fight inflation, until after Elizabeth’s funeral, which is scheduled to take place next Monday. The reason, according to the bank, is “national grief.” This will be one of the only times that a meeting of the bank, which is defined as independent, is pushed outside of a predetermined schedule.
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A planned gathering of one of the umbrella organizations of Britain’s major trade unions (TUC) was also postponed in honor of the 12-day period of mourning declared with the Queen’s death on Thursday, at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. In addition, all the strikes planned for the next ten days, including those planned to take place by the state postal service and railway workers, have also been suspended. “Out of respect for the Queen’s many years of service to the country, we have decided to postpone the strike planned for the weekend,” said the railway workers’ organization, which also announced the cancellation of huge strikes of tens of thousands of workers planned for the weekend.
Many Britons from around the kingdom are expected to use public transport to come to London and pay their last respects to the Queen, whose coffin will be moved from Buckingham Palace to Westminster this Wednesday. The casket will be on public display for four days and the Queen’s funeral on September 19 is expected to be a multi-participant event, from Britain and around the world, and it has been declared a holiday in the United Kingdom. There will be no trading on the British Stock Exchange on this day. Many businesses have announced in advance that they will be closed at this time. An analysis by the Business Insider website estimated that the damage to GDP as a result of the various measures could reach more than 6 billion pounds.
A tool for promoting economic interests
The British Royal House, and Queen Elizabeth who has been the head of the United Kingdom for the past 70 years, has greatly helped promote British business interests around the world, including high-profile visits in exchange for trade agreements. The Queen herself visited Saudi Arabia, Oman and the United Arab Emirates in the Middle East. Now, other family members, and especially the globally popular Prince William, are expected to make many visits in the name of the interests of the United Kingdom.
In the many obituaries published in the last few days in Britain and around the world, Queen Elizabeth’s ability to be a symbol of unity for the residents of the kingdom made up of four different nations (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) was emphasized. In the test of the result, the queen had another achievement: keeping the status and fortunes of the British royal family out of a real public debate about costs and necessity.
The new King Charles speaks from Buckingham Palace, Friday / Photo: Associated Press, Yui Mok
Of the eight families at the head of constitutional monarchies in Europe (Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Luxembourg) – the British royal family is the richest, by a wide margin. There are various estimates regarding the family’s wealth, which includes assets that have been transferred to it since the end of the Middle Ages, such as castles, mansions, palaces, large areas of land, works of art, jewelry, rare items such as stamps and furniture and more. Estimates range from £28 billion to £88 billion, a difference mainly due to the difficulty in valuing irreplaceable assets such as Buckingham Palace or Balmoral Castle, as well as the permanent crown assets which include many lands. But unlike the Danish royal family, for example, who gave the properties to the country that actually allows them to live in them, these properties are registered in the name of the British royal family.
The most expensive royal family in Europe
The current budget of the British royal family is also high compared to other families on the continent. The family is supported by the “Sovereign’s Grant” fund, which has been dedicated to it since 2011. The grant consists of part of the current income that comes to the royal house for the use of the territories, and additional funds collected from the public for the expenses of the royal house are added to it.
In total, it is estimated that the royal family costs the British taxpayers about 100 million pounds a year. Directly, according to estimates, every resident of Great Britain pays one pound every year to the current budget. These are high amounts compared to the 14 million euros received by the Swedish royal family, the 12 million euros received by the Belgian royal family or the 10 million euros received by the The Danish monarchy.
William, Kate, Harry and Meghan, Saturday / Photo: Associated Press, Kirsty O’Connor
Queen Elizabeth herself had a fortune estimated at £365 million by the Sunday Times Comprehensive Rich List. In addition to the handsome sums she inherited from her father, the Queen privately inherited Balmoral Castle, the place where she died, as well as Sandigham Manor. She also Received the inheritance of her husband Prince Philip, who died about a year ago – worth at least 10 million pounds. This sum does not include works of art and rare books that Prince Philip bequeathed to her. The Queen Mother bequeathed Elizabeth around £70 million, along with several works of art some of which have been transferred to the National Museums. There is also a prestigious stamp collection that the Queen reportedly enjoyed showing off to her visitors.
Inheritance tax does not apply to the royal family
As for the assets of the royal family, the assets of the crown (Crown Estate), they remain in the possession of the family without significant changes and are held in trust. Value is estimated at 30 billion pounds. As for the Queen’s “private” assets, most of them are now supposed to pass into the hands of the new King Charles III.
According to a law agreed in the 1990s with a Labor-led government, inheritance taxes in Great Britain do not apply to the royal family, in order to prevent the erosion of its treasury. Therefore, no 40% tax will be paid on the hundreds of millions that will go to King Charles. The King is also expected to continue to include in his charity fund the income from the sales of his organic biscuit business (Duchy Organics).
The timing of the mourning period is not favorable for the British economy. Prime Minister Liz Truss managed to announce before the Queen’s death an “emergency plan” to freeze energy prices (electricity and heating) in three weeks, but the funding for it – between 150 and 200 billion pounds – is unclear. The government said that it would “meet the target” And continue to work on formulating the plan in the coming days as well.