Q: Peter Hilne - Australia
I once read that The Queen has a driver's licence. How can this be possible? Surely the Sovereign can't licence herself, either directly or through one of her agencies. I understand it's precisely for this reason that she doesn't have a passport. To have one issued in her own name, on her own behalf, is a nonsense. I'd appreciate your clarification.
The Queen does not own a passport, despite making numerous official visits overseas. As you point out, because the British passport is issued in the name of the Sovereign, it is not necessary for The Queen herself to have one.
Although The Queen does not require a driving licence by law, she learned to drive in 1945, while still Princess Elizabeth, as a member of the Auxiliary Territorial Service. She would have required a licence at this time, since she was not the Sovereign and would therefore have been required to hold a driving licence under the existing acts of that time.
In a similar fashion, The Prince of Wales currently requires both a driving license and a passport. On ascending the throne, he would have no legal need for such documents, but he would still nevertheless possess them.
Q: Andrew B. Lannerd - Mooresville, Indiana, USA
What official plans have been made to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Queen's Coronation in June?
There have been no official announcements concerning the 50th anniversary of the Coronation as yet. An announcement will be made over the coming weeks. Please keep checking the Engagements section for details.
Q: Rosemarie Steed - NJ, USA
I haven't seen an update as to The Queen' s knee surgery. Has she resumed her normal pastimes and duties? Will The Queen, now that the Jubilee has passed, be reducing the number of personal appearances she will make?
The Queen left hospital on 14 January 2003 after an overnight stay. This followed a minor knee operation at the King Edward VII hospital in London. Afterwards Her Majesty recuperated at Sandringham. Some of her engagements had to be cancelled or undertaken by other members of the Royal Family. However, The Queen is making a good recovery and has resumed engagements in recent weeks.
The Golden Jubilee represented a unique celebration and the number of engagements that The Queen carried out at this time reflected her wish to thank as many people as possible throughout the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth for the support they had given her during her fifty years on the throne.
The Queen's programme will now revert to the usual annual programme, details of which can be found in the Engagements section.
Q: Sean Kelly - Shropshire
Since the accession to the throne of King George III in 1760, it is said that the monarch has agreed to hand over the revenues from the Crown Estate in return for an annual payment granted by Parliament: the Civil List. Since profits of £163.3 million were announced by the Crown Estate for the year 2002, was it this sum of money that was handed over to the Government in exchange for the annual payment granted by Parliament? If this is correct, is this how the official line from the Palace - that the Monarchy gives more to the Government than it receives - is justified?
When The Queen acceded to the throne in 1952, she agreed, as every monarch before her from the time of George III, that all revenues from the Crown Estate would be handed over to the Government in return for an annual payment from Parliament to meet the official costs of the monarchy.
You have already documented the profit made by the Crown Estate. For the same period, Head of State expenditure was £35.3 million. This figure represents the official cost to Government of running the monarchy. It includes the Civil List, (which meets the costs of The Queen's official Household), Grants-in-Aid (which cover property upkeep, communications and travel) and expenditure met directly from Governmental Departments (such as the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office), but excludes security (a matter for the Home Office and the Police).
It is not a form of payment for The Queen. It is used to meet the official costs of her household, working for The Queen as Head of State. Parliamentary Annuities are paid to other members of the Royal Family in recognition of their official duties. Since 1993, however, The Queen has repaid all of these parliamentary annuities to the Treasury, except the annuity paid to The Duke of Edinburgh. The Queen therefore meets all the official costs of all other members of the Royal Family (The Duke of York, The Earl and Countess of Wessex, The Princess Royal, The Dukes and Duchesses of Kent and Gloucester and Princess Alexandra) who carry out official duties. The Prince of Wales derives his income from the Duchy of Cornwall.
It is not true to say that there is an official line from the Palace which states that the Monarchy gives more to the government than it receives. The official costs of the British monarchy are very open and publicly documented. Annual reports for the Civil List and the Grants-in-aid are laid before Parliament, and they can be viewed in great detail on the Royal web site. Details of profits made by the Crown Estate can be viewed on the Crown Estate web site.
Q: Hans Paas - Melbourne, Australia
I am intrigued to know more about The Queen's dorgis, their characteristics, their appearance, when they first appeared and whether this new 'breed' was planned or accidental?
The dorgis are a result of the Pembroke bitch corgis mating with a miniature longhaired dachshund dog. The dachshund belonged to Princess Margaret and was called Pipkin. The dorgis are named Brandy, Cider and Berry and together they make up three of The Queen's ten dogs. There have been eight dorgis in all: Tinker, Pickles, Chipper, Piper, Harris, Brandy, Cider and Berry.
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