Untold wealth - in more ways than one

JOURNALIST Norman Luck realised the hosts of the royal visit to Abu Dhabi were generous when cases, containing watches worth £2,500, were put by each breakfast plate. "I spent ages trying to get this little bit of plastic off the winder. It turned out to be a sapphire," he recalled.

His freebie was peanuts compared to what the Queen received during that 1979 Middle East tour. She went home with £10m-worth of presents. At least, that's the estimate, as no public record is kept of gifts received on overseas tours. The Palace itself decides which belong to her privately and which are given to her as head of state in trust for her successors.

Historian Dr Justin Champion's attempt to unravel the finances of the House of Windsor was as thorough as possible given the secrecy surrounding the royal accounts.

What emerged is that the Queen has lots of fabulous jewels and expensive pictures in her collection, but nobody's sure exactly how many, or if they belong to her personally or the nation as a whole. Even if they are ours, they're kept locked in a cupboard in the palace where we can't see them. And this Aladdin's cave is likely to stay until the revolution and the monarchy exists no more.

It's a good job she has five residences - paid for by the nation - in which to store them. Not to mention the grace-and-favour homes in which family and staff live virtually rent free. Prince Michael of Kent, we learned, lives in spacious accommodation for £69 a week and isn't even required to carry out any royal duties.

Wading through the layers of confusion, Champion concluded that the House of Windsor "is a lavish institution by anybody's standards". The actual cost is confusing, although it appears the taxpayer pays £17m a year for their upkeep. What he's certain about is that the monarchy has "taken great advantage of the ambiguity between their public and private roles".

One thing we do know is the cost of royal travel as accounts are published in an annual report. What's unknown is the balance of the Queen's personal fortune. A rare statement by a royal representative suggested it was considerably less than £100m. That may be, but Champion also wanted to know how much was in the royal trusts. No answer was forthcoming from the Palace.

The Queen may be rich but her staff appear not to be overpaid. Their status determines in which of five dining rooms they eat. A former worker told how only senior members of the household were allowed to walk down the centre of the carpet. General staff had to keep to the edges to avoid undue wear and tear.

The Queen, or her money men, must have a good head for business as the monarchy has become wealthy only relatively recently. At the beginning of Victoria's reign, they were comparatively impoverished. Until the 19th Century, monarchs died with debts. Victoria, a thrifty soul, changed that, even putting old squares of newspaper in the toilet instead of lavatory paper.