Royal Family Set to Receive Bumper Income Boost in Annual Finance Report
The annual royal finance report has revealed that the monarchy is expected to receive a significant increase in funding, with a projected 53% jump in its official annual income in 2025/2026. The report, which covers the first full financial year of the King’s reign, was published on Wednesday after being delayed for a month due to the general election.
According to the report, the Crown Estate’s rising profits, which are expected to reach £1.1 billion in 2023/2024, will contribute to the boost in funding for the royal family. This will result in a Sovereign Grant of £86.3 million in 2024/2025, followed by a jump to £132 million the following year. These figures are based on funds two years in arrears, as per the Sovereign Grant’s policy.
Last year, it was announced that the funding of the monarchy would be reduced from 25% to 12% of the Crown Estate’s net profits due to the anticipated increase in income from the estate’s new offshore wind deals. The King has requested that the wind farm profits be used for the public good.
In addition to the increase in funding, the report also revealed the King’s commitment to protecting the environment. The King has asked for the wind farm profits to be used for the wider public good and has introduced solar panels to Windsor Castle for the first time. His state Bentleys will also be converted to run on bio-fuel within the next year, with plans to switch to a fleet of official electric cars in the future.
However, despite these efforts, greenhouse gas emissions have slightly increased due to an increase in travel and electricity usage. The report also showed a slight increase in official travel costs, with the most expensive trip being the King and Queen’s visit to Kenya, which cost a total of £166,557.
The report also revealed that the royal household will be receiving two new helicopters in 2024-25 to replace the existing 15-year-old ones. Despite the King’s commitment to protecting the environment and a royal source in 2022 stating that Prince Charles was “pretty allergic” to travelling by helicopter, the two new AgustaWestland AW139s, which will partly use sustainable aviation fuel, were described as a “key component” in enabling the King and the royal family to carry out their engagements in remote areas of the UK.
The annual report also included financial updates from Kensington Palace and the Duchy of Cornwall, covering Prince William’s first full financial year as Duke of Cornwall. The report showed that William received an annual private income of more than £23 million, as per his entitlement as heir to the throne.
During a briefing, it was revealed that Prince William uses WhatsApp to keep his team on their toes, as he focuses the work of the Duchy of Cornwall on his key causes – the environment, homelessness, and mental health. The Duchy of Cornwall’s secretary and keeper of records, Alastair Martin, shared that “sustainability is a passion that they both share.” He added, “His royal highness the 24th duke would telephone me. His royal highness the 25th Duke will WhatsApp me.”
The report also mentioned the personal charitable donations made by Prince William and Kate throughout the year, including donations to the London Air Ambulance, James’s Place, the Shout mental help text crisis service, and disaster relief causes. The couple has also personally funded a project to help improve mental health outcomes in rural communities, which will be announced later this year.
The annual report covered a tumultuous 12 months, with the King and the Princess of Wales’s double cancer diagnosis and the celebrations of the Coronation. It was revealed that £600,000 from the Sovereign Grant was spent on the coronation and associated events last year, with the total cost to the Sovereign Grant overall coming to £800,000. This figure covered internal costs such as staffing, palace receptions, and any furnishings or costumes that will be reused in the future.
Calling for greater transparency, Graham Smith from the anti-monarchy campaign group Republic stated, “We do not owe the royals a living, we do not owe them palatial homes, private helicopter travel, or lives of leisure and luxury.” He added, “The only reason the price tag for the royals is so high is because the monarchy is corrupt. They abuse the taxpayer’s trust day in, day out, taking our money to spend on their own private lifestyles.”
