The British royal family never fails to surprise people and now they are back in the news. This time, however, not for a good reason. A PEOPLE report reveals that the amount of money the British royal family receives from UK Treasury will grow significantly in 2025. And the UK public isn’t too happy about it.
What’s all the fuss about?
According to the report, in April 2025. money transferred from the British public purse to the British monarchy will increase by about $56 million (about INR 4,801,285,160). This will bring the total funding for the Sovereign Grant to a whopping $165 million (INR 14,147,000,505) – a figure that has sparked public outrage as the UK government struggles to get money for other items. For those not in the know, the Sovereign Grant is money paid to the British Monarchy by the UK Treasury.
This is not the first time that the amount of money that the British royal family will receive has increased. In 2024, the palace announced that most of this money would be used to renovate Buckingham Palace, which would cost around $462 million (i.e. INR 39,632,947,200) and was expected to be completed by 2027. However, the palace does not disclose. how much of that money was used.
Given that this increase in money for the royal family comes at a time when the British government is struggling to get funds for other tasks, many people criticized the move. “This is public money, all this money is coming from the government, at a time when the government is not able to adequately fund schools, hospitals, the police… This is scandalous. Not only should it not grow at all, it should fall,” said Graham Smith, CEO of Republic, according to Town & Country.
Popular unrest is said to have further intensified following the 2024 documentary The King, The Prince and Their Secret Millions. The documentary questioned the income of King Charles (the current ruler) and Prince William (the heir to the throne) from Duchy of Lancaster and Duchy of Cornwallrespectively.
For those who don’t know, duchies are portfolios of land and property that provide income to the monarch and rightful heir to the throne. So last fiscal year, the Duchy of Lancaster paid the king an estimated $34.3 million, while the Duchy of Cornwall paid the heir to the throne, Prince William, an estimated $29.5 million, according to PEOPLE.
Many people in the UK argue that the Duchies belong to the state and therefore their money should be given to the UK Treasury and used for the public. But in November 2024, spokespeople for the duchies told PEOPLE in a statement that they — the Duchy of Lancaster and the Duchy of Cornwall — are private.
However, this is not the first time that the people of the UK have raised their questions and concerns about the money spent on the monarchy. While some argue that the monarchy is outdated and should be abolished, others see it as part of British history and culture and therefore support it. What are your views on this? Tell us in the comments section below.
