Buckingham Palace has said it wants to “stay curious” and “help shape a better world” by unveiling a set of newly published “royal values”.
The move, made public in the Royal Household’s annual report, comes as King Charles continues his push for a slimmed-down monarchy and leaves his mark on the institution.
The document states that the first years of Charles’ reign have allowed them to take stock and “define a new expression of purpose underpinned by a renewed set of values.”
These are: “Act with Care,” “Make an Impact,” “Succeed Together,” “Stay Curious,” and “Lead by Example.”
The report adds that the Royal Household’s duty is to “support the sovereign in his or her service to the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth to help shape a better world.”
Buckingham Palace has revealed a new set of royal values, including “staying curious”, in its annual report. Pictured: King Charles and Queen Camilla leave Parliament after the State Opening of Parliament on July 17
Pictured: King Charles laughs as he and Queen Camilla leave the Easter Matins service at Windsor Castle on March 31.
In its latest report, the Royal House has committed to placing “a strong emphasis on value for money”, The Telegraph reports.
At the same time, however, it has removed a section that promised “accountability” for how it uses public funds and resources.
A line saying “different generations of the Royal Family” would take part in events to make the monarchy “relevant and accessible to people at all stages of life” was also removed.
This is in keeping with the spirit Charles has sought to instil since ascending the throne, with Her Majesty keen to give Britain a scaled-back monarchy.
Since then, the number of working royals has shrunk and fewer appear at state events.
This was evident at the Trooping the Colour parade in June, when Charles was joined on the Buckingham Palace balcony by a small group of key working royals and close family members.
Although the three Welsh children were present, there was no room for their nieces Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie and Zara Tindall, or their nephew Peter Phillips. The Sussexes and their brother Prince Andrew were also nowhere to be seen.
This comes after it was revealed that the cost of the Royal Family’s engagements over the past year rose to £4.2m despite there being 400 fewer visits and fewer trips abroad.
King Charles waves to the crowd from the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the parade on June 15. Pictured, from left: Prince George, the Prince of Wales, Prince Louis, Princess Charlotte, the Princess of Wales, King Charles, Queen Camilla, the Duchess of Edinburgh, the Duke of Edinburgh and Lady Louise Windsor
King Charles smiles during an audience with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at Blenheim Palace on July 18
This was up £300,000 on the previous year, something a royal source attributed to inflationary pressures as the cost of living crisis caused the price of goods and services to rise.
The cost of the French state visit was also expected to have been reduced in the previous year, but was postponed due to the political situation on the other side of the Channel, they added.
Her Majesty carried out 464 official engagements, down from 565 last year, with the Queen performing 201 of them, 103 jointly.
They also took fewer trips abroad, perhaps reflecting a need to stay closer to home because of the illness.
There are 27 separate trips by members of the Royal Family listed in the official report for 2023/24 where travel costs were at least £17,000, and only eight of these involved the King.
This includes the most expensive trip in the past 12 months to March 2024, the King and Queen’s five-day state visit to Kenya in October and November 2023, for which travel costs totalled £166,557.
The King also took part in the second and third most expensive trips on the list: a three-day state visit to France with the Queen in September 2023 (£117,942) and a two-day solo trip on the royal train in June 2023 to Pickering in North Yorkshire, to mark the centenary of the Flying Scotsman (£52,013).
The annual Sovereign Grant report detailing how the monarchy is funded by taxpayers reveals the Coronation cost the Palace £800,000.
On Friday it was revealed that Her Majesty is set to receive a significant boost to her income as a result of deals between Great British Energy and the Crown Estate.
King Carlos with President Mukhtar Babayev of Azerbaijan, Cop28 President Sultan al-Jaber of the United Arab Emirates, and Ana Toni, Cop30 representative and National Secretary for Climate Change of Brazil
The King’s property group is already making huge profits from the growing demand for offshore wind. The Crown Estate owns the seabed surrounding the UK and companies operating offshore wind farms have to pay to rent their sites.
Last week, the company revealed that its profits more than doubled in the 12 months to March, reaching £1.1bn. Most of the £658m increase came from extra fees paid by developers who won the rights to build six offshore wind farms in the North Sea and off the coasts of Cumbria, Lancashire and North Wales.
A new round of lease agreements next year is expected to finalise plans for the development of a floating offshore wind industry in the Bristol Channel.
Sir Keir Starmer said a tie-up between the new government-owned company GB Energy and the Crown Estate could result in leases being issued for another 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030, double the amount currently installed.
The move could have a significant impact on royal finances as each new site would mean additional leasing fees for the Crown Estate.
Under the terms of the Sovereign Grant, the King receives 12 per cent of the profits from the Crown Estate to help cover the costs of the Royal Family.
A sharp increase in profits could translate into a large increase in the Sovereign Grant.
