A Royal Family Energy Windfall

It’s good to be the Queen. British monarch Elizabeth II, who celebrated 60 years on the throne in June, may see her income rise 16 percent after the Crown Estate’s earnings increased and lawmakers changed the way royal finances are calculated. The monarch will be entitled to £36 million ($56 million) for the fiscal year that runs from April 2013 through March 2014, up from £31 million for the current year.

The Crown Estate manages real estate surrendered by the monarchy in 1760 in exchange for annual payments. Its profit increased 4 percent to £240.2 million in fiscal 2012, which ended March 31, thanks in part to revenue from offshore leases for wind farms, which more than doubled. The former landholdings for the royal family include the seabed around Britain extending to 12 nautical miles offshore. “They’re a landmark set of results,” Crown Estate Chief Executive Officer Alison Nimmo said in an interview at the corporation’s office off Regent Street in central London.