Campaigners have called for an urgent review of royal funding as the Sovereign Grant is about to increase by a massive 53%.

The increase, announced last year, comes into effect this weekend.

The grant for the financial year 2025-26 is £132,100,000. For the financial year 2024-25 it was £86,300,000. That's an increase of £45.8million.

The increase comes in just days after announcements of swingeing cuts to welfare and large increases to the cost of living for most ordinary people.

Speaking for Republic, Graham Smith today called for a widespread review of royal funding:

"The Sovereign Grant makes up just a quarter of the total cost of the monarchy, estimated to be well over half a billion pounds a year."

"The grant system is mad. Funding goes up not because of any need for extra money, but because the grant is linked to government profits from land managed by the Crown Estate."

"The palace has recycled the excuse of needing the money for refurbishment of Buckingham Palace, an excuse used to double the grant ten years ago."

"The royals continue to ignore the rest of their costs and confuse the picture by dishonestly representing who owns what property."

"The simple fact is we only need one head of state, and that office can cost as little as £5million. The president of Ireland costs around £4million a year."

"It is obscene to see the billionaire royals rake in another £45million in funding when disabled people are suffering cuts to their support, when schools and hospitals are struggling and when household bills continue to rise."

"It's time that half a billion pounds was put to good use, that there was proper accounting for the cost of the monarchy and for that cost to be slashed to just a few million pounds."

"Then it's time to ask why the royals have gotten away with this abuse of public money for so long."

For details of the full half a billion pound cost of the monarchy read the Half A Billion Pound Royals Report on Republic's website. https://www.republic.org.uk/halfbillionroyals