3 мин.
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Королева Англия Королеве Марии: «даю тебе все»

 

Шутка конечно, но говорят в каждой шутки есть доля правды.

А у этой доля правды большая.... даже очень большая...

 

Queen hires out garden to Russia

Ross Lydall and Matthew Beard

22 Dec 2011

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge′s garden is being hired out during the Olympics to raise money for the Queen.

The royal household has taken the unprecedented step of renting a playing field beside Kensington Palace to the Russians, the Standard can reveal.

It will be used to host VIP events for Russia′s Olympic athletes, such as tennis star Maria Sharapova, and promote the 2014 Winter Olympics in the Russian city of Sochi.

Documents submitted to Kensington and Chelsea council reveal that the Queen′s treasurer Sir Alan Reid signed a contract with millionaire Russian businessman Sergei Kolushev in August to allow the use of Perks Field.

It lies immediately to the north of the palace - where William and Kate have a cottage for their London base - and is normally used as an archery field, football pitch and landing site for the Queen′s helicopter.

The move to supplement the Queen′s income comes as government cash to cover her official duties, travel costs and upkeep of palaces is merged into a single Sovereign Grant from April. The first payment will be £31 million, rising to about £34 million the following year, but there is concern this may not be enough to tackle a huge backlog of maintenance work.

A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said: "The renting of Perks Field is a way of managing and adding to the budget of the Sovereign Grant over the next three years."

The deal, whose value has been blanked out in public documents, ensures the Russians do nothing that "may affect or damage the reputation, image or standing... of the royal family, royal household... Kensington Palace or any occupied or unoccupied royal palace or residence".

Any rules breach could mean the loss of their £250,000 deposit, while over-running the maximum 17-day lease - which begins with the Olympics opening ceremony on July 27 - will see them fined £5,000 a day.

According to planning documents, event organiser Eventica wants to erect a giant double-deck marquee as part of a "Russian cultural festival" also featuring a stage, five sponsors′ exhibition tents, catering area, bar, "garden lodge-style" picnic area with parasols and a display for Sochi 2014.

There will be a "very, very important persons" entrance - possibly in preparation for visits by Russian oligarchs and dignitaries - in what has been dubbed "Russia House".

A source close to the negotiations said: "It′s an ideal location because it is near where the Russian community live, it′s discrete and has the prestige of royal connections." It will allow Russia to make the biggest impact of all visiting nations at London 2012 as it continues its state-run policy of promoting the country abroad through sport.

Eventica, founded by Chelsea fan Mr Kolushev in 1996, helped Russia pip England to host the 2018 World Cup. It won an unrelated £18.3 million deal to build temporary structures and seating during the Games.

Perks Field was the location for a ball attended by William and Kate in June - their first public engagement after their April wedding - that raised money for a schools charity and their charitable foundation.

The couple, both 29, are due to move formally into the Kensington Palace apartment, once occupied by Princess Margaret, in mid-2013 after it undergoes a major refurbishment.

The palace has historical links with Russia. It was the childhood home of Queen Victoria, whose granddaughter Princess Alexandra was married to the last Russian tsar, Nicholas II.