Queen gets gold-plated pay deal

As thousands of public sector workers struck in defence of pensions rights that were labelled 'gold-plated' by the government and sections of the press, Parliament was voting through a recession-busting gold-plated pay deal for the Queen.

The deal, first mooted by Prince Charles 20 years ago, gives the Queen a 15% slice of the profits from the Crown Estate and guarantees her income can never fall in cash terms. The Treasury has confirmed there will be no direct cap on the deal.