The millions of pounds King Charles receives from taxpayers will be halved next year, it was revealed today.
The Sovereign Grant, used to fund the official duties of the monarchy, will be 12% of the Crown Estate’s net profits next year, up from 25%, the Treasury announced.
The Treasury said the Royal Household budget will be £24m lower next year, and £130m lower in both 2025 and 2026, than if the rate remained at 25%.
King Carlos III at his coronation. He will get less cash in the next few years.
The reduction arose from a Royal Trustees review, which was published on Thursday, and sets out the new proportion of the Crown Estate’s net earnings used to calculate the amount of government funding to support the King.
The trustees are Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and Keeper of the Private Purse Sir Michael Stevens.
The Treasury said: “Reducing the rate to 12% is expected to reduce the Sovereign Grant by £24m in 2024/25, compared to the rate remaining at 25%, and over £130m less in 2025 and 2026.”
“This money, instead, will be used to finance vital public services, for the benefit of the nation.”
The King had called in January for profits from wind farms to be used for the general public good.
The death of Queen Elizabeth and raging inflation forced royal officials to dip into their emergency fund last year, official accounts revealed last month.
Royal spending came to £107.5 million, but the cost to taxpayers remained static at £86.3 million, with royal officials drawing on their reserves to the tune of £20.7 million.
The annual Sovereign Grant report detailing how taxpayers fund the monarchy reveals that the late Queen’s funeral cost the Palace £1.6m.
Last year’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations cost another £700,000.
The State Arms Carriage carries the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in the Royal Banner with the Imperial State Crown and the Sovereign’s Orb and Scepter, in the ceremonial procession down The Mall after her state funeral.
King Charles III with Lionel Richie and Lisa Parigi during a garden party at Buckingham Palace, London
There was also £444,000 in “departure packages” for 16 of Queen Elizabeth’s staff who lost their jobs. Other key highlights of the 2022/23 revision include:
- Harry and Meghan have now officially ‘left’ Frogmore Cottage after being evicted by the King.
- The Sussexes have paid all the costs incurred by taxpayers in renovating the property – more than £2.4m. But officials declined to discuss whether the Duke of York will be forced to move, saying it was inappropriate to discuss any of his “private tenancy arrangements” at his current mansion, Royal Lodge.
- The cost of actual travel has been reduced from £4.5m to £3.9m.
- Energy costs have skyrocketed and utility bills have jumped 40% to £4.5m.
- The Sovereign Grant has been frozen at £86.3m, with £51.8m funding the King’s official duties plus an additional £34.5m to pay for ongoing construction work at Buckingham Palace.
- Palace officials say the cost of the monarchy to the British public remains just £1.29 per person.
Sir Michael Stevens, Keeper of the Privy Purse, said it had been an “exceptional year” for the Royal House. “It marks a year of grief, change and celebration, the likes of which our nation has not seen in seven decades,” he added.
The Royal Family made 2,710 engagements across the UK and abroad, an increase of 14 per cent on the previous year.
The Princess of Wales reopened the Young V&A museum in Bethnal Green, east London, yesterday. She wore a £720 pink belted midi dress from Beulah.
The Princess of Wales, patron of the V&A, leaves after a visit to launch the Young V&A in Bethnal Green, east London.
The Flying Scotsman pulls the Royal Train along the North Yorkshire Moors Railway nr. Goathland Way to Pickering, North Yorkshire
King Charles III and members of the royal family follow behind the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in the royal banner bearing the crown of imperial state and the sovereign’s orb and scepter.
Payroll costs saw one of the largest annual increases of any expense, rising £3.4m to £27.1m, with the lowest paid staff receiving a pay increase of around 5-6 per cent. Housekeeping and hospitality rose from £1.3m to £2.4m and utility bills skyrocketed from £3.2m to £4.5m.
The Palace generated £9.8 million in revenue, mainly from rental contracts and the annual opening to the public in summer.
Combined with a ‘flat’ Sovereign Grant, which has stayed at the same level for two years and will not increase next year, lower visitor numbers after Covid and the Queen’s death ‘has put pressure on our finances’, officials admitted. But they added: ‘We are confident that we can balance our needs within the funds that are available to us. . . and we are not going to ask the Treasury for more money.’
Meanwhile, the Crown Estate will pay even more money to the Treasury after a boost in offshore wind. He made a £442.6m profit last year, £130m more than the year before, and the King has made it clear he wishes to go to help public finances.
For the first year the Duchy of Cornwall – which finances the public works and private activities of the Prince of Wales – does not publish its accounts because there was a transition between Charles and Prince William. The surplus from the estate was £24m, which will be split to cover Charles’ work as Prince of Wales last year (£11.275m) and William who received £12.773m.
William, the new Duke of Cornwall, has returned £6.873 million as working capital. Like his father, he pays income taxes.
