In a royal first, King Charles III has announced how much money he paid in tax last year – it comes as the monarch said he and the Queen would not be living at Buckingham Palace following its £369 million refurbishment
The core funding of the monarchy is to jump to £100m a year, almost doubling in the space of three years.
Under a new formula for calculating the Sovereign Grant, which pays for the royal family’s official duties and the upkeep of royal palaces, the Royal Household is to receive £99.9m as a core grant in 2027-28.
This would equate to a jump of £48.1m compared with the core grant of £51.8m in 2024-25.
The change was decided upon by Royal Trustees – outgoing Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Chancellor Rachel Reeves, and the King’s Keeper of the Privy Purse and Treasurer James Chalmers.
The boost will be used to pay for a backlog in maintenance at occupied royal palaces, strengthen cyber-security at royal residences, and for the installation of energy efficient heating systems, with £11m set aside to replace boilers nearing the end of their life at Windsor Castle.
Republic, which campaigns for an elected head of state, criticised the announcement, with chief executive Graham Smith branding royal finances “out of control”.
Keeper of the Privy Purse Mr Chalmers insisted the funding was “not a blank cheque” and there were strict value for money requirements.
“Expenditure is governed by the same standards and disciplines as any publicly funded body, with strict value-for-money requirements, detailed planning, multi-year strategies, independent audit, and Treasury oversight,” he said.
A temporary decade-long uplift to the Sovereign Grant was put in place from 2017 to pay for the £369 million overhaul of Buckingham Palace, with an extra reservicing portion grant added to the core grant for 10 years.
The refurbishments are coming to an end in 2027, when the annual overall grant will fall from £137.9m, which includes both core funding and the Buckingham Palace renovations funds, in 2026-27, to a core funding of £99.9m in 2027-28.
Mr Chalmers said: “This year we are announcing that the Sovereign Grant will be reduced in 2027-28 for the first time since its inception.”
He added: “In line with His Majesty’s clear wishes, it will be reduced to £100m, a level that the Royal Trustees have determined will ensure the work of our Head of State and the wider Household can be properly and appropriately supported in the nation’s best interests.”
The new figure will be, however, almost double the core grant of £51.8 million in 2024-25, and £27.8 million above the core grant of £72.1m in 2025-26.
The official funding of around £100m a year is set to continue for a period of five years, until the next review, because Crown Estate profits, which benefited previously from a major boost, are expected to be “significantly impacted” as Offshore Wind option fees cease, the Royal Household’s report on royal finances revealed.
More than £28.2m was invested in ongoing property maintenance in 2025-26 to preserve historic buildings other than Buckingham Palace – a rise of around £10m, the Sovereign Grant accounts showed.
In 2016-17, before the start of the Palace renovations, the Sovereign Grant for official duties and general official residence upkeep was £42.8m – a figure, which according to the Bank of England inflation calculator, would today be worth £60.4m.
The Royal Trustees decided in their review that the Sovereign Grant will be formed of 20.5% of Crown Estate net profits from 2027-28, rather than current rate of 12%, for five years.
Mr Chalmers added: “It is important to emphasise that the Sovereign Grant does not provide personal income to members of the Royal Family. It funds the work of the institution – not private lives or private wealth.”
The Crown Estate’s 2025-26 annual accounts, published on Thursday, showed a net revenue profit of £487m.
The Treasury said the recalculation of the Sovereign Grant Bill would ensure “a sustainable and proportionate funding framework going forward”.
Mr Smith, of Republic, said: “Royal finances are out of control, and parliament needs to act to slash the annual budget to below £10m.”
He added: “Despite ongoing concerns about the huge cost of the royals, the grant will remain hugely inflated on its initial level of £31m in 2012. If that had risen by inflation the grant would stand at £45m, not £100m.”
Where does the royal family’s money come from?
The monarchy’s wealth comes from three sources: the Sovereign Grant, the Privy Purse and the King’s personal wealth and income.
The Sovereign Grant is money paid from the Treasury – public funds – for official duties. This covers the cost of expenses such as residences, staff and travel.
The Sovereign Grant the monarchy will receive in two years’ time, in 2027-28, comes to £99.9m, compared to £132m in 2025-26.
The King receives a private income from the Duchy of Lancaster estate, and that came to £25.2m in the last year. The land that makes up that estate is held in trust for the reigning British monarch, and the net profits generated are known as the Privy Purse.
The King also has a personal income from his own investment portfolio and privates estates, which is used to cover private expenses.
He also owns the Balmoral and Sandringham Estates, both inherited from the late Queen Elizabeth II.
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