Windsor, UK - April 2018: Royal Windsor castle in Berkshire
Share this @internewscast.com
The British Royal Household released its financial statement on Monday, revealing that the annual lump sum from the government remained at £86.3 million ($AU180 million).

The sum, called the Sovereign Grant, pays for the upkeep of royal palaces and the royals’ official duties and is funded by British taxpayer money.

In return, the monarch hands over all profits from the Crown Estate — which includes vast swathes of central London property, the Ascot Racecourse and the seabed around England, Wales and Northern Ireland — to the government, in an arrangement dating back to 1760.

Windsor, UK - April 2018: Royal Windsor castle in Berkshire
The sum, called the Sovereign Grant, pays for the upkeep of royal palaces and the royals’ official duties and is funded by British taxpayer money. (Getty)

The Sovereign Grant functions like an expense account for the monarch and their representatives, covering the costs of their public duties, including travel, staff, and upkeep of historic properties.

Notably, it excludes funding for security, which also incurs a high cost given the royals’ numerous public engagements and events.

Royal family members undertook more than “1,900 public engagements in the UK and overseas, while more than 93,000 guests attended 828 events at Official Royal Palaces,” the annual Sovereign Grant Report said.

The total grant of £86.3 million ($180 million), which by law remains the same as the three previous financial years, is comprised of a £51.8 million ($108 million), core grant and £34.5 million ($72.6 million) to fund the refurbishment of Buckingham Palace.

LONDON, UK - 28TH JUNE 2016:  Musical support from the Regimental Band during the Changing of the Guard ceremony at Buckingham Palace in the summer.  The soldiers can be seen wearing scarlet tunics and bearskin caps
Buckingham Palace is undergoing a major modernisation project that will see upgrades to cabling and accessible bathrooms. (Getty)

Buckingham Palace, a top tourist attraction in central London, is undergoing a major modernisation project that will see upgrades to electric cabling, pipework, elevators and accessible bathrooms.

The royal family will decommission the royal train “following a thorough review into its use and value for money,” according to the accounts report.

The monarchy has been using its own rail travel since Queen Victoria first boarded a specially built carriage from Slough, England, to London Paddington Station in 1842.

The report also said the Royal Household will increase its use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and continue the electrification of its fleet of vehicles.

Last year, the Royal Household announced it aimed to transition to an “almost fully electric” fleet of vehicles, without providing a target date.

Britain’s PA Media reported that the King’s two Bentleys would be modified to run on biofuel.

king charles to visit poland british royal family 2025
The level of funding for the British royal family has long fueled criticism. (Getty)

The royal family’s three main sources of income are the Sovereign Grant, the Duchy of Lancaster and Duchy of Cornwall estates and their personal property and investments.

The level of funding for the British royal family has long fueled criticism, with one anti-monarchy group calling for the Sovereign Grant to be abolished and for the British public to keep all the profits of the Crown Estate.

“The grant system is mad. Funding goes up not because of any need for extra money, but because the grant is linked to government profits from land managed by the Crown Estate,” Graham Smith, a campaigner for the group Republic, said in a statement earlier this year.

“The palace has recycled the excuse of needing the money for refurbishment of Buckingham Palace, an excuse used to double the grant ten years ago.”

“It’s time that half a billion pounds was put to good use, that there was proper accounting for the cost of the monarchy and for that cost to be slashed to just a few million pounds,” Smith added.

The Keeper of the Privy Purse, James Chalmers, said in a statement on Monday as the report was released: “Soft power is hard to measure but its value is, I believe, now firmly understood at home and abroad, as the core themes of the new reign have come into even sharper focus, and the Royal Family have continued in their service to the nation, Realms and Commonwealth.”

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like

Antisemitism Envoy Addresses Concerns Over Controversial Definition in New Plan

Australia’s special envoy to address antisemitism, Jillian Segal, has rejected criticism regarding…
CCTV of a man who allegedly assaulted a woman and young child.

Surveillance Footage Captures Bold Attack on Woman and Child

A predator has been captured on video brazenly attacking a woman and…

Tour de France: Pogacar Regains Lead with Impressive Stage Seven Performance

Tadej Pogacar won stage seven of the Tour de France to regain…
Fire ants found in Toowoomba

Fire Ants Invade Queensland Mine, Prompting Statewide Eradication Efforts

A major fire ant outbreak has broken out at a BHP coal…

Disturbing Conditions in Police Cells for Children: Blood, Rats, and Self-Harm

This article contains distressing content. Tiny, windowless cells with no access to…
Carolina Wilga stopped at a petrol station in Toodyay about 4.30pm the day before she was last seen.

Lost Backpacker Carolina Wilga Rescued in Isolated Western Australia Outback

Missing German backpacker Carolina Wilga has been found alive in the remote…
Chermside hit-run

Brisbane Hit-and-Run: Tradie Involved in Fatal Accident May Be Released Soon

A Queensland tradie was sentenced to five years jail today for killing…
Second Australian city becomes million-dollar housing market

Another Major Australian City Enters the Million-Dollar Housing Club

Brisbane is now part of Australia’s million-dollar property markets, with median house…
Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino has told people he is considering resigning amid a major clash between the FBI and Justice Department over the continued fallout from the release of the Jeffrey Epstein memo

FBI Deputy Director Bongino Weighs Resignation Following Epstein Files Controversy

Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino is contemplating stepping down due to a…
A Qantas A380 aircraft passes Gate 20 at The Beach, Mascot on the perimiter of Sydney Airport. Qantas.

Qantas Cyberattack Impact More Severe Than Initially Publicized to Customers

Exclusive: Some Qantas customers have learned that more of their personal information…

Afghan Asylum Seeker Appeals to Australian Authorities to Halt Deportation

Nearly four years after being captured and tortured by the Taliban, Ahmad…
Woollahra railway station was canned during construction , but could now be revived as part of a housing plan.

Revitalization Plan May Restore Defunct Sydney Train Station for Residential Use

One of Sydney’s most well-heeled suburbs could get a new train station,…