The UK’s House of Commons has approved a motion updating the formula for King Charles to fund the British Monarchy. The Prince of Wales is set to receive slightly under a mouthwatering £100 million ($135 million) to fund the Royal Household. This funding will likely shock normal folks with their meager annual budgets.
This funding will be given to King Charles as a core annual funding to carry out official royal duties. Moreover, it will maintain royal palaces after he “significantly increased” his number of engagements, according to Dan Tomlinson, a Treasury minister.
Tomlinson explained that towards the end of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign, she was no longer carrying out various foreign engagements or state visits. This is what has led to expenditure on public duties to be increased. The minister’s comment comes at a time when the House of Commons approves a motion to update the funding formula for British monarchy following a review by the Royal Trustees.
King Charles To Receive $135 Million To Fund British Monarchy
GettyFollowing this, the Sovereign Grant Bill was tabled with legislation setting the core annual funding for the Sovereign Grant at £99.9 million in 2027-28. This grant covers the annual funding to support King Charles’s official duties. It also includes the work of the Royal Household, including official travel, maintenance of occupied royal palaces and staffing.
The funding comes as a percentage of the profits of the Crown Estate, which is a collection of land and property in the UK belonging to the reigning monarch. As reported by the Independent, balance of the funding goes to the Exchequer.
Funding The Reservicing Of Buckingham Palace
GettyOver the period of 10 years to 2027, a temporary uplift to the grant was made to fund the reservicing program for Buckingham Palace. Now that the work is close to completion, the overall Sovereign Grant is set to reduce from £137.9 million ($185 million), up from £72.1 million in 2025-26 and £51.8 million in 2024-25.
Moreover, the percentage of the Crown Estate’s net profits going to the Sovereign Grant will be around 20.5 percent, rather than the current 12 percent.
“This recommendation was made based on an assessment of the Royal Household’s expected costs and the Crown Estate’s expected revenues between 2027 and 2032,” said Tomlinson, adding, “The new level of the grant will ensure that the Royal Household can continue to deal with property maintenance backlogs following some years of constrained funding during the pandemic.”
The Treasury Minister closed by saying, “It will also allow the Royal Household to replace ageing systems to strengthen cybersecurity and to install energy-efficient heating systems.”
GettyTomlinson explained that the refurbishing costs for the royal palaces was £18 million in 2016-2017, but will next year be £33.6 million. Speaking of the increase in core funding, he added: “That reflects this bottom-up assessment that has taken place, looking across the needs of the Royal Household and making sure that it is being funded adequately for the work, for the public duties that His Royal Highness the King and the royal family carry out.”
“And it is worth pointing out, of course, that those activities have increased significantly in recent years,” the minister explained, adding, “Towards the end of her reign, the late Queen was not carrying out a large number of foreign engagements, and also was hosting a smaller number of state visits.”
“The King has increased the engagements that he is carrying out on our behalf as part of his public duties, and that has involved more expenditure in terms of staff costs and making sure that those engagements and the benefits that, in terms of the representation of our country and supporting good causes here in the UK can get the funding and the support that they need.”
