King Charles Makes History by Disclosing £30m in Personal Tax Payments

Buckingham Palace has released details of King Charles III‘s finances, saying the disclosure reflects its “commitment to transparency” as public scrutiny of royal spending continues to grow.

According to AFP, the accounts show that the Sovereign Grant, the taxpayer-funded payment used to support the monarch’s official duties and maintain royal residences, increased to £132.1 million for the 2025-2026 financial year from £86.3 million in each of the previous four years.

Buckingham Palace said £67.5 million of the grant was “allocated to the preservation and protection of the occupied royal palaces, some of the nation’s most iconic heritage buildings.”

The financial report showed staff costs for the king totalled £33.7 million during the year, while a 2025 official visit to Rome by King Charles and Queen Camilla cost £126,946. Security costs are funded separately and are not covered by the Sovereign Grant.

The Sovereign Grant, introduced in 2012 to replace the Civil List system, is funded through a share of profits generated by the Crown Estate, a property portfolio valued at £16.7 billion. The estate, which is owned by the Crown but managed independently, recorded net profits of £487 million in the year to March 2025.

Read Also: Trump Says Iran Militarily Defeated At State Dinner For King Charles

Buckingham Palace also confirmed the Sovereign Grant will rise to £137.9 million in 2026-2027 to cover the final phase of Buckingham Palace’s 10-year refurbishment programme before being reset to £99.9 million annually between 2027 and 2032.

Beyond public funding, King Charles received £25.2 million in private income from the Duchy of Lancaster during the 2025-2026 financial year, while the Prince of Wales received £21.6 million from the Duchy of Cornwall. The duchies generate income from land, property and investment portfolios and fund personal expenses as well as some official duties.

The report added that while the king and the Prince of Wales are not legally required to pay tax on their private income, both continue to do so voluntarily, following the practice established by the late Queen Elizabeth II.

King Charles also retains personal ownership of the Balmoral and Sandringham estates, which he inherited from Queen Elizabeth II. Under a long-standing arrangement with the UK government, assets passed directly from one monarch to the next are exempt from inheritance tax.