The millions of pounds King Charles receives from the taxpayer will be cut in half next year, it has been revealed today.
The sovereign grant – used to fund the monarchy’s government duties – will be 12% of the Crown Estate’s net profit next year, down from 25%, the Treasury announced.
The Treasury said the Royal Household budget would be £24 million less next year and £130 million less in both 2025 and 2026, if the rate remains at 25%.
King Charles III at his coronation. He will receive less cash in the coming years
The reduction comes from a review by the Royal Trustees, which was published on Thursday and sets a new ratio of net profits to the Crown Estate used to calculate the amount of government funding to support the monarch.
The trustees are Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and Keeper of the Privy Purse Sir Michael Stevens.
The Treasury said: ‘Cutting the rate to 12% is expected to reduce sovereign grants by £24m in 2024/25, compared with the rate remaining at 25%, and £130m less in each of 2025 and 2026.
‘This money will instead be used to fund essential public services, in the interest of the nation.’
King in January called for the wind farm’s profits to be used for wider public welfare instead.
The death of Queen Elizabeth and rising inflation forced royal officials to dip into their rainy day fund last year, official accounts revealed last month.
Royal spending came in at £107.5 million, but the cost to taxpayers remained steady at £86.3 million, with royal officials dipping into their reserves by £20.7 million.
The annual Sovereign Grants report detailing how the monarchy is funded by taxpayers revealed that the late Queen’s funeral cost the palace £1.6 million.
Last year’s platinum jubilee celebrations cost a further £700,000.
The State Gun Carriage carries Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin, draped in the Royal Standard with the Imperial State Crown and the Sovereign’s Orb and Sceptre, in a ceremonial procession from the Mall after her state funeral.
King Charles III with Lionel Richie and Lisa Parigi during the Garden Party at Buckingham Palace, London
Queen Elizabeth had ‘exit packages’ worth £444,000 for 16 staff who lost their jobs. Other key highlights of the 2022/23 review include:
Harry and Meghan have now officially ‘vacated’ Frogmore Cottage after being evicted by the King. The Sussexes have borne all the taxpayers’ costs of renovating the property – more than £2.4 million. But officials refused to discuss whether the Duke of York would be forced to move there, saying it was not appropriate to discuss his ‘private lease arrangement’ at his existing palace, Royal Lodge. The cost of a royal tour has dropped from £4.50. million to £3.9 million. Fuel costs have soared, with utility bills rising by 40 per cent to £4.5m. The sovereign grant has been frozen at £86.3 million, with £51.8 million being funded by the King’s official duties and an additional £34.5 million to pay for ongoing construction work at Buckingham Palace. Palace officials say the cost of the monarchy to the British public still works out to just £1.29 per person.
Keeper of the Privy Purse Sir Michael Stevens said it had been an ‘exceptional year’ for the royal family. ‘It corresponds to a year of mourning, change and celebration, the likes of which our nation has not witnessed for seven decades,’ he added.
The Royal Family undertook 2,710 engagements across the UK and abroad, a 14 per cent increase on the previous year.
The Princess of Wales yesterday reopened the Young V&A Museum in Bethnal Green, East London. She wore a £720 belted pink midi dress by Beulah.
The Princess of Wales, Patron of the V&A, departs after a visit to the opening of the Young V&A in Bethnal Green, East London
The Flying Scotsman pulls the Royal Train along the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. Gothland on the way to Pickering, North Yorkshire
King Charles III and members of the royal family follow behind Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin, which is draped in the Royal Standard with the Imperial State Crown and the Sovereign’s Orb and Scepter
Payroll costs saw the biggest annual increase of any expenditure, rising from £3.4 million to £27.1 million, with pay for low-wage workers increasing by around 5-6 per cent. Housekeeping and hospitality increased from £1.3 million to £2.4 million and utility bills from £3.2 million to £4.5 million.
The palace generates an income of £9.8 million, primarily from rental agreements and the annual summer opening to the public.
Coupled with a ‘flat’ sovereign grant, which has remained at the same level for two years and will not increase next year, low visitor numbers after Covid and the Queen’s death have ‘put pressure on our finances’, officials admitted. But they added: ‘We are confident that we can balance our needs within the funds available to us. . . And we will not ask the Treasury for more money.’
The Crown Estate, meanwhile, will have to pay more to the Treasury after offshore wind power increases. It made a profit of £442.6 million last year, £130 million more than the previous year, which the King has made clear he wants to go to to help public finances.
For the first year the Duchy of Cornwall – which funds the Prince of Wales’ public works and private activities – is not releasing its accounts because of a change between Charles and Prince William. The estate had a surplus of £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, returned £6.873 million in working capital. Like his father, he is also paying income tax.
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