CIVIL LIST SAVINGS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26623, 20 November 1947, Page 7

CIVIL LIST SAVINGS

DISPOSAL TO COMMONS PROVISION FOR ROYAL COUPLE Rec. 8 p.m. . LONDON, Nov. 18. Sir Stafford Gripps, in the House of Commons to-day, presented a message from the King in connection with Princess Elizabeth's wedding, which the Speaker read. The message said that his Majesty, relying on the affection and cordial iriteres. his faithful House of Commons had manifested in the forthcoming marriage of Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Mountbatten, and desiring that provision should be made for them, was.willing, in order to avoid burdening the people at present, to place at the disposal of the House of Commons a sum derived from savings on the civil list made during the war years so that the provision made should, for a period, impose no additional charge on the public funds. The King’s offer to make provision for Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Mountbatten means there will be no burden on the public funds for possibly two years, says Reuter’s. The King's annual allowance is £410,000, of which £134,000 is set aside for the payment of fixed salaries and tirement penSl< The Royal Family during the war practised many economies in staff and living expenses at Buckingham and Windsor Palaces. The King in one year saved £20,000. His Majesty’s message sets in motion the parliamentary machinery for fixing the allowance for the Princess and her husband, and a Select Coro** mittee, which will be appointed today will make recommendations to Parliament, and Parliament will deCl The parliamentary correspondent of The Times points out that as no change has been made in the civil list since 1937, it may well be that higher living costs since the *war, ; including increased salaries and wages to officials and servants, have already offset much of the saving effected by the King during the war years. Since her twenty-first birthday Princess Elizabeth has received £15,000 yearly from the Consolidated Fund. Before that she had £6OOO. _ . These sums were fixed by Parliament when her father came to the Throne. The Select Committee then made no recommendation for extra allowance in the event of her marriage. They decided that it would be for Parliament to make such provision as might seem proper at that time in the light of circumstances then prevailing. This is what Parliament will do now. but the parliamentary correspondent of the Daily Telegraph says the new Select Comr +ee will have no direct precedent to guide them. Queen Victoria was already on the Throne when she married. Parliament was then asked to vote £50,000 yearly to the Prince Consort, but there was opposition and the sum was cut to £30.000.