royals
British monarchy is spending more money
Queen Camilla and King Charles III. at a horse race at Ascot. photo
© Alastair Grant/AP/dpa
Once a year, the British royal family gives an insight into its finances – at least partially. The reports reveal how the royals are using taxpayers’ money.
Job title: Prince of Wales – Annual salary: £24 million. A job advertisement could look like this or something similar if the post of the British heir to the throne were not hereditary, but open to applicants. First in line of succession to the British throne Prince William, 41, can look forward to a whopping pay rise in his first full year as Prince of Wales, according to official figures from the palace that have now been released.
In the past fiscal year (April 5), William had to settle for far less. He therefore had “only” 5.9 million pounds (6.8 million euros) in the pay packet, because until the death of his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II last September, the income of the Duchy of Cornwall, like the property and real estate fund of the heir to the British throne, nor his father King Charles (74).
Overall, spending on the monarchy in the UK has risen for the second year in a row, according to the annual report of the “Sovereign Grant” – as the state pot for royal duties is called. According to the report, they increased by £5.1m, or 5 per cent, to £107.5m in financial year 2022/23. Royal advisors blamed the change of throne after the death of Elizabeth II as well as inflation and the ongoing costs of the years of renovation of Buckingham Palace. The additional expenses were financed by reserves.
Travel costs decrease, property management more expensive
The individual items showed a mixed picture. The royal family’s travel expenses fell by £600,000 to £3.9m. Conversely, property management and management costs increased by £1.3m to £2.4m and staff costs by £3.4m to £27.1m. This was also due to a salary increase of 5 to 6 percent.
Individual points stand out: the royal couple spent more than £140,000 on the charter flights for their visit to Germany in March alone. The Royals spent more than a million pounds on 179 helicopter flights. A single domestic British charter flight from Aberdeen in Scotland to Northolt Air Base in London cost almost £25,700.
£86.3 million Sovereign Grant
In total, the so-called Sovereign Grant was 86.3 million pounds, as in the previous year. Of this, £51.8m is earmarked for the official duties of the King and his household and £34.5m for ongoing refurbishments.
The palace’s chief financial officer, Michael Stevens, as the so-called Keeper of the Privy Purse, spoke of a “year of mourning, change and celebration such as our nation has not seen in seven decades”. The reporting period included celebrations for the 70th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s accession to the throne, the period of mourning for the Queen’s death and the beginning of the reign of the new King Charles III, but not his coronation.
Opponents of the monarchy: expenses significantly higher
Meanwhile, the Republic organization, which advocates for the abolition of the monarchy, presented its own figures. According to her, the royals are far more expensive for taxpayers. As a result, the total cost including police protection and other expenses is £345m. “That’s enough to pay 13,000 new nurses or teachers,” said Republic boss Graham Smith, according to a statement.
The accession to the throne of the new monarch, who is regarded as a pioneer for climate and environmental protection, is also reflected in the report. The heating in Buckingham Palace and other royal properties has been reduced to 19 degrees Celsius to reduce emissions. In unused rooms of the spacious castle, the thermostat was even turned down to 16 degrees. The palace just missed its self-imposed goal of filling at least ten percent of its employees with applicants from an ethnic minority. By 2025, the proportion should even increase to 14 percent.