How transparent are royals about money?

The gift of the sovereign has always been theoretically open and accountable – but to many it has also felt incomprehensible. This annual public payment for the running costs of the Crown is based on the profits of the Crown Estate.

But the money does not come from the Crown Estate, which is an independent property business, but rather from the Treasury.

Adding another layer of complexity, the Sovereign Grant was increased to pay for the construction work in Buckingham Palace for 10 years, with a particularly sharp two-year increase, which this year brought a subsidy of nearly £138m, the highest level.

In the year

This is an actual cut on the title image. And it’s a resolution signed by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves, which could be one of the last major changes made by the current administration.

There is something complicated though. As the total sovereign grant is reduced, the principal amount will be much higher than it was before construction began. It’s going down, not where it used to be, taking inflation into account.

Due to some international events, how much petrol prices keep going up and even when they come down from highs, they don’t seem to go back to where they started.

Before work began on the building, the sovereign grant in 2016-17 was around £43m, which, adjusted for inflation, would now be £58m using figures from the House of Commons library.

So the “low” £99.9m compared to £138m is still a significant amount higher. It has decreased, but it has reached a much higher level than before.

Most recently, in 2024-25, the core amount of funding was £52m without building additions – significantly less than next year’s new funding.