King Charles’ enormous pay rise revealed after surprise tax admission

The King is set to have a rather large pay rise, it has been announced.

The core funding of the monarchy is set to jump to £100 million a year, almost doubling in the space of three years due to a new formula for calculating the Sovereign Grant.

The Royal Household is predicted to receive £99.9 million as a core grant in 2027-28, a £48.1 million increase from the £51.8 million core grant in 2024-25.

The change was decided upon by Royal Trustees – outgoing Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Chancellor Rachel Reeves, and the King’s Keeper of the Privy Purse and Treasurer James Chalmers.

What is the Sovereign Grant?

The Sovereign Grant is money paid from the Treasury to the Royal Household for official duties. This covers the costs of the Royal Family’s residences and staff, as well as other expenses such as travel.

What will the £100 million pay for?

The boost will be used to pay for a backlog in maintenance at occupied royal palaces, strengthen cyber security at royal residences, and for the installation of energy-efficient heating systems, with £11 million set aside to replace boilers nearing the end of their life at Windsor Castle.

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The refurbishments are coming to an end in 2027, when the annual overall grant will fall from £137.9 million, which includes both core funding and the Buckingham Palace renovations funds, in 2026-27, to a core funding of £99.9 million in 2027-28.

When this work is finished, the overall figure will fall from £137.9m to £99.9m, but this will be significantly higher than in previous years.

King Charles declares tax 

The news of the Sovereign Grant comes as King Charles and Prince William declared the amount of tax they paid for 2024-2025, making Charles the first Monarch to do so in history. 

Charles paid £12.9 million in the financial year 2024-25, making him one of the UK’s top 100 taxpayers for that period. He paid £11.7million the previous year. The King has contributed more than £30million to the public coffers since his accession to the throne in September 2022.

How much did Prince William pay in tax?

William, meanwhile, paid £7.76 million in income and capital gains tax in 2024-25 and £8.34million the previous year, adding to a total of more than £20million paid in tax since he became heir to the throne.

Father and son voluntarily pay tax on the income they receive from the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall, respectively.