Scotland is refusing to give the Queen any more money
Senior Scottish parliament sources said in no uncertain terms to several British newspapers, including the Guardian, the Telegraph, and the Times, that Scotland's parliament, now led by Nicola Sturgeon, is looking to axe handouts from the Crown Estate, north of the border.
The Daily Mail said, without citing sources, "from April 1 next year, the SNP-led Scottish government has chosen to bank the money itself.
Meanwhile, an unnamed senior aide told the Guardian that "originally, Alex Salmond did imply that might happen. But the new leadership said no," in response to the claim that Scotland would still give the Queen money from the Crown Estate.
In the Telegraph, a senior aide said Scotland would not be giving money from the Crown Estate to the Queen: "Not through the Sovereign Grant, no." The courtier added the rest of the UK could bear the cost burden: "At the moment there's no other mechanism in place to compensate. It would be nice if the proportion was increased from the rest of the UK."
The Crown Estate is an independent commercial business which manages the Queen's property portfolio, which mainly includes land and properties.
The profits are passed onto the UK Treasury and a slice is given to the Queen. This is how the Royal household gets most of its funding.
Three years ago, the government forged a deal for Buckingham Palace that meant it would be shielded from any cuts to public spending. The deal also agreed that the monarchy would receive 15% of profits of the £9.9 billion ($15.1 billion) Crown Estate, and the amount the Queen would receive would never be less than the amount received in the previous year.
This caused a massive rise in what Queen Elizabeth II received over the past three years. She got £40 million ($61 million) in the 2013-2014 financial year, 29% above the £31 million ($47.2 million) she received in 2012-2013.
However, for the latest financial year, as reported on June 23, the Crown Estate made a profit of £285 million ($449 million). So a 15% slice is around £42.8 million ($67.5 million).
If Scotland refuses to give the Queen a portion of the revenue from the Scottish part of the Crown Estate it would currently represent around £2.2 million ($3.5 million) due to the £14.5 million ($22.9 million) worth of profit being derived from the country.
Although a number of Scottish parliament based sources told a raft of newspapers that Sturgeon intends to cut the Queen's slice of the profits from the Crown Estate, a spokesperson said in a statement: "Scotland will continue to make the same financial contribution to the monarchy as at present - there will be no reduction in the sovereign grant as a result of devolution of the crown estate."