The King will receive £99.9 million in core annual funding from the taxpayer from 2027-28, after Treasury ministers said the Royal Family’s official activities had increased significantly in recent years.
Treasury minister Dan Tomlinson said the increase reflected the greater number of public engagements undertaken by the King, as well as increased expenditure on staffing and the support required for official duties.
The announcement came as the House of Commons approved a motion to update the formula used to calculate the Sovereign Grant, following a review by the Royal Trustees.
Legislation has now been tabled through the Sovereign Grant Bill which will set the core annual funding at £99.9 million for 2027-28.
The Sovereign Grant provides funding for the King’s official duties and the work of the Royal Household, including staffing, official travel and the maintenance of occupied royal palaces.
The new figure represents a substantial increase in the core grant. It will rise from £72.1 million in 2025-26 and £51.8 million in 2024-25.
However, the overall Sovereign Grant will fall from its current £137.9 million level because a temporary uplift introduced to help finance the £369 million Buckingham Palace reservicing programme is being reduced as the work nears completion.
The Sovereign Grant is linked to the profits of the Crown Estate, the extensive portfolio of land and property held by the Crown, with the remainder of its profits going to the Exchequer.
Under the new arrangement, around 20.5 per cent of the Crown Estate’s net profits will go towards the Sovereign Grant, compared with the current rate of 12 per cent.
Mr Tomlinson said the recommendation followed an assessment of the Royal Household’s expected costs and Crown Estate revenues between 2027 and 2032.
He said the new level of funding would enable the Royal Household to tackle property maintenance backlogs following years of constrained funding during the pandemic, as well as replace ageing systems, strengthen cybersecurity and install more energy-efficient heating systems.
The cost of refurbishing royal palaces is also expected to rise significantly. Mr Tomlinson told MPs that while such expenditure stood at £18 million in 2016-17, it will reach £33.6 million next year.
Explaining the increase in core funding, he said it reflected a “bottom-up assessment” of the Royal Household’s needs and was intended to ensure it was adequately funded for the public duties carried out by the King and the Royal Family.
Mr Tomlinson also drew a direct comparison with the final years of the late Queen’s reign, when the number of overseas engagements and state visits had fallen.
“Towards the end of her reign, the late Queen was not carrying out a large number of foreign engagements, and also was hosting a smaller number of state visits,” he said.
“The King has increased the engagements that he is carrying out on our behalf as part of his public duties.”
According to the minister, that increase has brought additional expenditure on staff and on ensuring that official engagements can be properly supported.
The higher level of activity also, he said, delivers wider benefits through Britain’s international representation and the Royal Family’s support for good causes across the UK.
The £99.9 million figure therefore marks an important change in the way the Royal Household will be funded, even as the temporary funding associated with the Buckingham Palace works begins to fall away.
