After a rough year of illness, the royal family of Britain has received some welcome news in the form of a new financial report detailing the family’s historic properties.
The profits of the Crown Estate—which contributes to the monarchy—were published in Wednesday’s annual report. Following a 148% growth from £443 million in 2022–23, the holdings will yield £1.1 billion in 2023–24. Thanks to these record revenues, the taxpayer-funded Sovereign Grant, which assists the royal family under King Charles, will increase by nearly 50% to £132 million in 2025–26.
Although it is held by the British monarch, the Crown Estate is run autonomously, and the government receives the earnings. It is a portfolio of historical and commercial property assets. The present arrangement is for the monarchy to receive 12% of Crown Estate income, which is based on monies that are two years overdue. The royal family had previously been allocated 25% of revenues to cover their responsibilities and improvements, but last year, in preparation for the anticipated increase in income, the house reached an agreement with the government to reduce the percentage. The royal family would have earned £355 million if the proportion hadn’t been lowered.
The government has received a certain amount each year to support the royal family and its responsibilities in exchange for centuries of net earnings from the Crown Estate. A portion of the estate’s earnings, known as the sovereign grant, has served as this payment mechanism since 2012.
Sovereign grant will be 12% of net earnings instead of 25% starting this year, according to the previous administration’s agreement. At a time when most of Britain was still struggling with rising living costs, the royal family’s reputation might have been threatened if the gift had stayed at its original 25%. Instead, the king would have gotten £275 million, a significant increase from £132 million.
“Revenue and valuation will normalize” in the future years, according to Crown Estate chief executive Dan Labbad, who stated in the annual report that the profit rise was “short term in nature.”
