privy purse

American  

noun

British.

1. a sum from the public revenues allotted to the sovereign for personal expenses.

2. a member of the royal household in charge of paying these expenses.

---

privy purse British  

noun

1. 1. (in Britain) an allowance voted by Parliament for the private expenses of the monarch: part of the civil list

   2. (in other countries) a similar sum of money for the monarch

2. Full name: Keeper of the Privy Purse.  an official of the royal household responsible for dealing with the monarch's private expenses

---

Etymology

Origin of privy purse

First recorded in 1655–65

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

privy purse

Princess Michael of Kent, another non-working royal, also has a property in Kensington Palace which is paid for by the privy purse.

From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026

But a spokeswoman for the duchy says that none of the unclaimed money following a death goes to the private income known as the "privy purse".

From BBC ● Nov. 24, 2023

Behind them, members of the queen’s household, including her private secretary and keeper of the privy purse, walked in a final gesture of service.

From New York Times ● Sep. 14, 2022

In addition to the allowance, she has the use of the "privy purse," about $750,000 a year in revenues from the Duchy of Lancaster, lands that Henry III seized from two rebellious barons in 1265.

From Time Magazine Archive

Whale the mariner received two pounds from Henry VII's privy purse in 1498.

From The Romance of Names by Weekley, Ernest