Civil List Act 1952

1952 c. 37

An Act to make provision for the honour and dignity of the Crown and the Royal Family, as to the disposal in certain circumstances of revenues of the Duchy of Cornwall, and for the payment of certain allowances and pensions.

Most Gracious Sovereign,

Whereas Your Majesty has been graciously pleased to signify to Your faithful Commons in Parliament assembled that Your Majesty placed unreservedly at their disposal those hereditary revenues which were so placed by Your Predecessor, and that Your Majesty is desirous that provision should be made for His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh and for Your Majesty’s children other than His Royal Highness the Duke of Cornwall, and that provision should be made for Her Royal Highness the Princess Margaret in the event of her marrying and for any future wife of His Royal Highness the Duke of Cornwall in the event of her surviving his Royal Highness:

And whereas Your Majesty has further been graciously pleased to signify Your Majesty’s intention to assent to arrangements for applying, during the minority of His Royal Highness the Duke of Cornwall, a part of the revenues of the Duchy in relief of the charge for Your Majesty’s Civil List, and, in the event of those revenues vesting in Your Majesty, to provide for Your Majesty’s Civil List out of those revenues in so far as they are sufficient:

And whereas it is expedient, forasmuch as it is happily to be expected that Your Majesty’s reign will last for many years, to make provision under which so much of the sum charged for Your Majesty’s Civil List as is not required for current expenditure will be set aside and accumulated in the hands of trustees so as to be applicable for meeting expenditure in later years, and it is expedient to reserve for the future determination of Parliament to what extent and by what means sums remaining in the hands of the trustees at the end of Your Majesty’s reign should be available for making provision for members of Your Majesty’s family other than those for whom provision is made by this Act corresponding to that which Your Predecessors have been accustomed to make out of savings accruing to the Sovereign’s Privy Purse: