King Charles III is set to get a raise worth about 45 million British pounds (approximately $56 million) from the British public this year, and the decision has caused controversy in the UK, which is still recovering from the pandemic-era cost of living crisis. In response, anti-monarchy advocacy group Republic is launching a new public campaign related to royal funding.
In an interview with Town & Country, Republic CEO Graham Smith explained the logic behind the group’s next move. “This is public money, all of this money comes from the government, at a time when the government is not able to properly fund schools, hospitals, police…. It is scandalous,” he said. “Not only should it not be going up at all, it should be going down.”
Last year the UK government announced that the amount of the Sovereign Grant, the public funds that go toward the upkeep of King Charles’s monarchy, would be rising substantially in 2025, from 86.3 million to 132 million British pounds (about $108 million to $165 million). The enhancement was due to increased revenue from the Crown Estate, a group of properties and investments traditionally belonging to the monarchy, with profits given to the government.
According to the BBC, the sum skyrocketed due to the estate’s successful recent investment in wind power. A palace spokesman told the outlet that in the 2026–27 parliamentary session, the funding the monarchy receives will be assessed to make sure it is a “more appropriate” amount, but until then the balance will go toward the coffers of the royal household.
When the palace released the Sovereign Grant report in July, it announced that it would dedicate most of the money to ongoing renovations of Buckingham Palace, the 18th-century London home of the monarchy and its main functions. A 10-year renovation of the iconic building began in 2017, with the undertaking set to cost 369 million British pounds (about $461 million). Nearly eight years into the project, work on the palace’s East Wing has been completed, and the majority of the palace, including the king’s offices, will be closed for the next two years to finish the job.
Though the timing is still on track, the extensive renovations have not necessarily gone according to plan. Further outlays were hinted at last year when a report from the UK’s National Audit Office found that 65% of the project budget had already been spent by March 2024, following the discovery of more asbestos and structural damage than had been anticipated. Despite commenting that such discoveries were “more likely” and “in the household’s control,” the report concluded that the royals had “demonstrated good practice in a number of areas” and managed the budget “well.”
