Monarchy set to receive £132m for second year in a row in 2026-27

The Herald Scotland

2 days ago

The Sovereign Grant, which pays for the royal family's official duties and the upkeep of royal palaces, is met from public funds in exchange for the King's surrender of the revenue from the Crown Estate, two years in arrears.
Members of the royal family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day (Ben Birchall/PA)
The monarchy is already receiving an increase in the current 2025-26 financial year, with around £132 million in Sovereign Grant funding – £45.7 million more than the £86.3 million in 2024-25, thanks to £1.1 billion Crown Estate profits in 2023-24.
This puts the total extra over the next two years (2025-26 and 2026-27) at £91.4 million.
But Crown Estate profits are set to drop back sharply in the future as the short-term boost from offshore wind farms fades.
The 'temporary uplift' to the Sovereign Grant will be used to help fund the remaining £100 million of the £369 million refurbishment of Buckingham Palace, but also for an enhanced programme of works at other occupied royal palaces after the Covid pandemic halted progress.
James Chalmers, the King's new Keeper of the Privy Purse, said: 'The temporary uplift in the grant will also help repay the shortfalls from the years during which the Sovereign Grant remained fixed at £86 million, and to finance, among other projects, an enhanced programme of works to protect and preserve heritage buildings across the Occupied Royal Palaces.
The East Wing of Buckingham Palace opened to visitors last year as part of the next phase of reservicing (Jonathan Brady/PA)
'Many of these works fell out of scope of the reservicing programme and had to be paused as a consequence of the Covid impact and budgetary constraints.
'In funding their completion, the Royal Household is able to invest in the protection and preservation of properties held in trust for the nation, while supporting skilled jobs in conservation and traditional crafts across the UK.'
The Sovereign funding was reduced from 25% to 12% of the Crown Estate's net profit in 2023, in a review of royal finances by Royal Trustees, to take account of huge profits from offshore wind farm deals.
The King asked for the extra profits to be used for the wider public good, but he will still receive more than £90 million extra.
Predictions in the 2023 review had set the expected Crown Estate profits in 2023-24 as £1.04 billion and 2024-25 as £1.05 billion.
The total Sovereign Grant for 2024/25, relating to Crown Estate profits in 2022/23, remained flat at £86.3 million because of a caveat which means it cannot fall below current levels.
The Crown Estate is a multibillion-pound property, land and rights portfolio which includes Regent Street in London's West End and Ascot Racecourse.