Queen's staff face pay freezes as royals prepare for income to fall during coronavirus pandemic

The Queen’s staff members could face pay freezes as the Royal Family prepares to lose millions of pounds of income during the coronavirus pandemic.

Buckingham Palace will not be open to tourists this summer, as usually happens while the Queen is in Balmoral.

With ticket holders refunded, it means the royals’ books are taking a hit. One report suggested the drop in income could be as much as £18m.

The warning was made by Lord Chamberlain Earl Peel, the most senior official of the royal household, in an email seen by The Sun.

According to The Sun, he said: “We must therefore assume it could still be many weeks, if not months, before we are able to return to business as usual.

“There are undoubtedly very difficult times ahead and we realise many of you will be concerned.”

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A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “The whole country is very likely to be impacted financially by coronavirus and the royal household is no exception.

“However, the time to address this issue will be when the full impact of all the implications of the current situation is clearer.

“At the moment the attention of the royal household is on ensuring it follows all the guidelines and supports the national effort in combatting COVID-19.”

The Royal Family’s funding comes from the Sovereign Grant, which is calculated as 25% of the income profits of the Crown Estate for the financial year two years previous.

There was more funding agreed for the renovations at Buckingham Palace. The Sovereign Grant for 2019-20 was £82.4m, but £33m of this was renovation money.

Read more: Buckingham Palace will not open to visitors this summer amid coronavirus pandemic

The Queen and Prince Philip have been in Windsor Castle since the middle of March and look likely to remain there for the foreseeable future.

The Queen, 94, has already been forced to cancel the annual summer garden parties, both in London and in Edinburgh, as well as her official birthday celebrations for Trooping the Colour.

She asked the gun salutes not happen on her real birthday in April, and like many other, celebrated it in lockdown.

It’s believed this summer is the first time since the palace started its annual openings that it has had to close.

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The Royal Collection Trust, which manages the palaces, said they would have difficulty maintaining social distancing at the properties.

Frogmore House in Windsor and the Prince of Wales’s London base Clarence House will also remain closed in 2020.

The royals have been staying at home and have swapped in-person engagements for phone calls and video meetings.

The Queen was heard making a call to Professor Kathleen McCourt, president of the Commonwealth Nurses and Midwives Federation and fellow of the Royal College of Nursing, for International Nurses Day.

It’s thought to be the first time the monarch has given permission for her voice during a private call to be used.