The half billion pound royals.

2024 Royal Finances Report

Scandalous abuse of public money

New research reveals the royals cost the country more than £500m a year.

As Keir Starmer tells the country tough decisions are needed and that more cuts are on the way, the annual cost of the monarchy has hit more than half a billion pounds.

The Duchies are not private estates. This report shows why.

The cost goes well beyond the official Sovereign Grant, which is also spiralling out of control. The £510m bill includes profits from the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall, which research conclusively shows are state assets, as well as costs to local councils, security for two dozen homes, routine use of helicopters and private or RAF jets, unpaid taxes and lost opportunity costs.

Read the full report [pdf]

Research shows that Crown Estate land and the two duchies are state assets, not the private property of the Windsor family. Eminent figures from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries are on record confirming the point, while monarchs were legally barred from privately owning land until 1800. The evidence is conclusive.

There is no financial payback from having the monarchy. 

Claims of financial benefits to trade and tourism have also been debunked, with the notorious Brand Finance report coming in for particular criticism. With no return on the investment and comparable heads of state such as the president of Ireland costing just £5m, the monarchy represents a scandalous abuse of public funds.

9 key points

1. The royals cost a lot more than publicly declared, at least £510m a year.
2. The true cost includes the sovereign grant, which itself is set to rise by £45m a year.
3. The cost includes lost revenues from the Duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster, which the record shows are state assets at the disposal of parliament, not the private property of the Windsor family.
4. The Sovereign Grant is funded wholly by the government, not the Crown Estate. The Crown Estate is a state asset, created in 1960 to manage some Crown (state) lands, but it’s only been since 2011 that it has been used as a smokescreen for royal expenditure, by artificially linking the grant to Crown Estate profits.
5. The huge and growing cost of the royals is primarily due to personal and private costs, such as an excessive number of homes, avoidance of large tax bills and private incomes being drawn from the duchies.
6. Using or abusing public office for private gain is a form of corruption, and this corruption is why the monarchy costs so much. Secrecy, dishonesty and deference all feed a culture of impunity and entitlement.
7. Comparable heads of state cost as little as £5m a year, excluding security.
8. There is no evidence to support claims of an economic benefit from having the monarchy.
9. The cost of the monarchy should and could be slashed to just £5-10m a year, while these revelations should help fuel a debate about abolition of the monarchy in favour of a democratic and accountable alternative.

Reform and abolish

Republic is calling for short-term royal funding reforms with a view to a longer-term debate on abolition. Those reforms include:

1. Scrap the Sovereign Grant.
2. Provide a budget of £5-10m a year, to provide an office and staff for the head of state.
3. Provide a salary for Charles of £189,000 and peg any increases to that of the prime minister. This figure is 110% of the prime minister’s salary.
4. Roll all Duchy assets into the Crown Estate and rename the estate the National Estate, changing the law to make public ownership explicit.
5. Limit Charles to two homes that the state will provide security and staff for, one in central London and one in the countryside. This will bring the head of state into line with the prime minister.
6. Scrap all provision of homes or funding for all other members of the royal family. Ensure all royals have the same tax obligations as everyone else.
7. End all royal exemptions from the Freedom of Information Act and include the royal household and the royal archives in the scope of the Act in relation to official communications, documents and records.
8. Hold an honest and public inquiry into royal finances and spending, one which has full access to all records going back as far as necessary.
9. Take royal financial reporting out of the hands of the palace and ensure comparisons with similar heads of state are included in any reports.

These reforms are proposed with a longer-term view of achieving the abolition of the monarchy in favour of a democratic alternative. Only by having an accountable head of state can we put an end to this abuse of public money.

Summary of the annual cost of the royals

Comments from Republic

"The half a billion pound cost of the royals represents a scandalous abuse of public money. It is the result of royal corruption and secrecy, a family that believes it can spend public money with impunity."

"If Rachel Reeves thinks tough decisions are needed in these difficult times, she needs to start with the royals. We're being told the budget will be painful. Well if that's true, the cuts must start at the top."

"How can we talk about cutting the winter fuel allowance while paying William a personal income of £23m? How does the government defend this rhetoric of painful decisions when the royals cost us enough to pay 18,000 NHS nurses?"

"The Sovereign Grant is spiralling out of control, set to rise by another £45m a year. Yet the true cost of the monarchy is well over half a billion pounds. And most of that is because the royals spend hundreds of millions a year on their own private lives."

"This new report shows unequivocal proof that the Duchies are state property, not private estates. The royals are dishonest in claiming otherwise. The Duchies have been Crown property for hundreds of years, the parliamentary and historic record makes it clear they are not private estates."

"Republic is demanding the royal budget be slashed to below £10m, that only Charles receive any public funding, that he is given a salary pegged to that of the prime minister and that MPs hold a inquiry into this appalling waste of money."

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