Oh good, I was worried he might end up destitute. Living in only two or three of his castles, like a tramp.
The modernisation of the royal palace has long been used to justify increases in the sovereign grant, which was just £31m when it was first introduced in 2012-2013. Under a “golden ratchet” clause in the Sovereign Grant Act, the amount of money handed to the monarch can never fall, even if the crown estate’s profits decrease.
A Treasury spokesperson said: “The grant has been largely unchanged since 2020 and this temporary increase covers the remainder of the Buckingham Palace refurbishment. We will review the grant in 2026, expecting to bring it back down in 2027.”
How can they bring it down in 2027 when there's this golden ratchet clause that says it never goes down?
As I understand it. The clause is based on as a % of the income from the crown estates.
And as all income from the estates has been given to the government since Charles III. In exchange for the sovereign grant. With the fact that that grant is used to maintain the palaces.
It not being below 12% of the money earned from the land. Is hardly an onerous rule.
How many other land owning corperations pay a maximum of 88% tax and survive. Would be very different if the government was expected to fund maintainance from the non grant part.
Lets remember where the royal grant comes from.
Approx 75% of crown estates income goes to the government. Currently 25% is paid back as the Royal grant. That grant is, among other things, used to maintain the Crown estates.
So King Charles pays lower taxes on the Crown estates. Is a way more accurate title then recieves pay rise from tax payers.
This arrangement has been law since Charles III went bancrupt fighting the Americans. He seeded all crown estates profit to the government. In exchange for the royal grant.
While folks may argue as to right to the land. They have zero legal argument to claim it is public property at the moment. And no other Statutory corporation or any other corporate structure. Pays 75% of its income in taxes.
The Private Estate is larger than the Crown Estate. And the Crown Estate is public property.
Next year, the sovereign grant will remain unchanged at £86.3m. However, in 2025, the king’s public funding will increase by a projected £38.5m, giving the monarchy an annual stipend of £124.8m. In 2026, it will be £126m.
When was the last time you got a 50% pay rise for doing fuck all? Those boots must be really fucking tasty.
Catch a grip.
Lord Turnbull, a former cabinet secretary, Whitehall’s most senior civil servant, who was involved in official discussions over royal financing, accused the Treasury of seeking to obfuscate how the monarchy was funded.
He said that linking the royal finances to the profits of the crown estate was “silly” and was motivated by a desire to promote the idea that the king was paying for himself and was reducing the burden on the taxpayer.
“You get people writing in saying: ‘Isn’t it a good thing that the king is so sensitive to public opinion that he has waived some of the money he could have had?’ I think it’s bollocks. It is deliberate – that’s really what makes me so cross about it. It is a deliberate attempt to obfuscate how the thing works.”
Crown estates is in no way public property. It belongs to the Crown. The fact you and many other think it should be dose not change the law.
But let's look at the logic if you were correct.
The sovereign grant is being increased to maintain part of that estate. So if the estate was public. Why the fuck would maintaining it be considered a cost to the crown grant is expected to pay.
It is no more public property then and other long inherited property in this nation. The fact that in 2024 and Heck since the 1930. Many people feel it was acquired via immoral means (Not disagreeing). Dose not change the UK legal structure.
And that is exactly why this bullshit about it being public land. And the sovereign grantt being tax payer funded has to stop.
Because not only is it not true. But the claims hide the real facts about our royal families holding. And prevent people from fighting to change things.
It hides the truth of the crown wealth rather then the indevidual wealth of the members. Approx 15bln in assets and 450ml a year in income. Most going to the government dispite the land being held in the crowns name.
George 3 created the situation where the crown is funded from the estates. Via the government. At a time where doing so saved the crown. Without the government thinking. Oh that revenue will be huge in the future. Yes we will win by funding the family now. The crown would have collapsed creating something close to the gov most republicans hope for now. The estates would have been sold off to privrate hands. Much like other EU royal families did.
Instead we have a unique situation where the government benifits from keeping a unique corporate structure owned by the monarch as a form of trust for the family.
The false claims of public ownership and tax part money. Protect the family from public opinion.
They do, you're right. But I remember not so long ago there was a "scandal" that he was receiving money from people dying without a will in the Manchester area. That wasn't the scandalous part of it, that's just the way it is, and the money is supposed to be used for his charity. Instead it was being used to renovate his private properties that he rents for his own personal income, meaning that while he wasn't profiting directly from the deaths, he was in fact using that money to increase the value of his properties that he can then charge more in rent for, therefore profiting from it.
https://todayswillsandprobate.co.uk/the-guardian-kings-estate-allegedly-profits-from-unclaimed-inheritances/#:~:text=The%20Guardian%20has%20uncovered%20a,the%20north%2Dwest%20of%20England.
When it came out in the news, The Palace immediately made a massive charitable donation.
Just saying, while we have people pop up in every thread where people attack The Crown, there is definitely some shady shit that they do and cover up.
Another one that comes to mind was a Arab businessman giving the King a large donation with a suitcase full of cash. https://news.sky.com/story/prince-charles-accepted-carrier-bag-full-of-cash-as-a-charity-donation-from-qatar-ex-pm-claims-sunday-times-12640561
The Royals aren't the transparent and charitable people they make themselves out to be. Sure they work with charities, and even enrich them, but they also profit.
Also I haven't read those links I've posted, just done a quick Google and posted them before someone says "sauce"
Yeah unfortunately is is all sort off intentional.
When George 3 was fighting the US civil war. It was very much the UK Royal Family vs American rebels. The parliment did not care. While now the UK military still answers to the King. We all know the parliment is in charge... right.
But if back in George 3S Time. Royal families throughout Europe were losing power. If he did not offer the profits to parliment. His family would have been forced to sell the land privately. So when the parliment of the time saw the long term advantage. They also protected this unique and odd Monarchy we have.
Look up who owns the crown estates. You will see the answer is clear. But the language less so. Part of it talk about G3 surrendering the land to parliment. But the laws enacted by parliment clearly place it in a trust belonging to the crown managed by the monarch.
Throughout history the crown the nation and the Monarch as a person. Have been referred to as single separate entities in law while all one in public. G3 used the parlement to protect that separation. By expending the crown into law as a unique legal corperation. He used the fact that parliment was sovereign (literally as in it represents the power of the king) to protect his family.
It is why all these folks claiming the crown estates are public land. 15bln estimated assets. Sort of pisses me off. Legally it is not. But G3 knew he was using the idea that the crown was the nation to pull the wool over democratic eyes.
He created a legally protected trust that the government is fiscally obliged to protect. As if the UK crown collapsed. The ownership of its assets would be a complete nightmare to cleanup.
The Crown Estate is public money. The Private Estate is larger and they're extremely secretive about it. And some of it rightfully belongs to us: royals took more than £1bn income from controversial estates
So why does he need 40 million extra of our money per year? Christ alive...
Because that is not technically what is happening.
Believe me I am not a royalist. But do think we need a real democracy before becoming a Republic. Getting rid of the royals will not speed that up. Just give more power to the current sovereign parliment.
What to many brits fail to realise is. The sovereign grant is funded entirely from the crown estates. The income from the crown estates is all paid to parliment. (Old trick G3 used to ensure the UK government was fiscally obliged to protect the family.)
At least 12% of that income must be returned to the family as a grant to support the duties of the crown. Including maintainace of the property.
So technically and legally the crown estates is a approx 15bln unique corperation defines by parliment as belonging to the crown. Owned in trust(sort of) by the current monarch.
It must return 12%+ to the monarch to support crown lands and crown tasks.
So if you think of it as any other property rich corp and ignore the crown part.
They are paying less taxes because there costs are higher over the next few years. It is just because the corps profits are given to the government unlike any other. The government has to return the costs for them to spend.
The Crown estates earned parliment around 450m last year. So the new grant represents about 25-30%
So the corp that is legally required to pay under 88% (ie at least 12% paid to support) is now paying 70-75% tax.
