A few examples of how relatives of the Queen benefit from and exploit their royal status.
These issues were exposed by the press - and would still be ongoing if they had not been.
But then - the Queen had to be forced to pay tax on her wealth in 1992!
Buckingham Palace yesterday confirmed that Prince Michael of Kent and his wife Princess Michael pay less than the weekly rent of a council house for the grace and favour apartment loaned to them by the Queen at Kensington Palace in west London.
The couple, who fulfil no royal engagements, pay only £3,500 a year towards upkeep - equivalent of just £67.30 a week for an enormous apartment in one of the most favoured buildings in London, overlooking Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park and just a short walk from Knightsbridge
They have been allowed to live in the apartment, larger than most homes, with seven bedrooms and nine reception rooms, since 1979. But they only started making a contribution to its upkeep in 1994, three years after the royal family took over the cost of maintenance
The confirmation came amid reports that the couple face losing the apartment in a review of what members of the royal family can and cannot do
A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said: "Obviously no member of the royal family not carrying out official duties would be allocated such a property today. They were given the apartment when circumstances were different. They make a contribution towards the cost of maintenance which is increased in line with inflation and they do pay the normal bills for services such as water and gas."
Estate agents suggested to the Sunday Times that the market rate to rent such a property would currently be more like £10,000 a week - three times as much as the couple pay in a year - and that they would be lucky to rent a garage in the area for the amount they pay. A rise in line with inflation this year would see them paying the equivalent of £1.70 a week more.
The apartments at the palace are in the gift of the Queen, and others are occupied by the Duke and Duchess of Kent, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.
The annual cost of upkeep for the entire palace was revealed in last year's royal accounts to be £1.107m. There is a staff of gardeners and cleaners, 18 craftsmen to maintain the apartments, and a 24 hour telephone exchange
Details of the arrangement reached by Prince Michael with his first cousin the Queen were given in a hitherto unnoticed Commons written answer by the Culture, Media and Sport Department last week.
The answer by the junior minister, Alan Howarth, insisted that no commercial business was conducted from the couple's apartment, although it is said that the prince uses a ground-floor office in connection with a consultancy firm he runs
There has been speculation that Prince Michael may come under scrutiny in the current review of guidelines for the royal family's business affairs instituted under the lord chamberlain, Lord Luce, in the wake of the "Sophiegate" affair when the Countess of Wessex was caught by an undercover News of the World reporter talking about exploiting her royal connections for her public relations company.
The review, which is expected to clarify the guidelines and place clearer limits on what members of the family can and cannot do, is expected to be completed within weeks
The palace denied any knowledge yesterday of whether Prince Michael or his wife would be interviewed by Lord Luce. The couple, who have been known to complain privately about their allegedly impoverished circumstances, have been accused of exploiting their status and connections for commercial gain.
The prince was last month said to have taken 24 free airline trips in 15 months and to have secured VIP status in passing through airports and using their facilities. Princess Michael - known as Princess Pushy in the tabloid press - is a former interior designer
The couple own an eight-bedroom country mansion at Nether Lypiatt in Gloucestershire, bought for £300,000 shortly after they were first given the use of the apartment at Kensington Palace and now worth an estimated £1.6m
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