The Queen of England was refused a request for government funding to help pay her bills as officials feared a public backlash, it has emerged.
The Queen, here in disguise, has been known to beg the public for money.
The Independent newspaper is reporting that an aide to the Palace asked the government if the Queen was entitled to receive some of a £60m energy-saving fund, saying the cost of the Queen’s gas and electricity bills totaled over £1m a year and had as such become “untenable”. The Palace also complained that the £15m government grant they receive to maintain the palace was inadequate.
In an apologetic response from the government, the royal aide was told that the handouts were aimed at schools, hospitals, councils and housing associations to benefit families on low incomes, adding that giving the Queen money from such a fund could lead to negative press:
“I also feel a bit uneasy about the probable adverse press coverage if the Palace were given a grant at the expense of say a hospital. Sorry this doesn’t sound more positive.”
The email, written in August 2004, was obtained under that pesky Freedom of Information Act, which also led to the unveiling of MPs taxpayer-funded expense claims. And we all know how that turned out.
Source: Independent
