The wealth of the Royal Family & the cost of living crisis
With the death of the Queen and the appointment of King Charles III he becomes one of the wealthier individuals in the world. The Financial Times (10th September) published some details
The Monarch oversees a Royal Household of around 400 people and is the non-executive Chair of the Firm, the Royal businesses. The Crown Estate which has a £15.6bn property portfolio covering Regent St, St James, and the seabed up to 12 miles offshore which has in recent times seen profits from wind farms.
Since 1760 the Crown Estate has been managed on the Monarch’s behalf with profits going to the Treasury. From this a percentage is paid back to the Monarch known historically as the Civil List. The percentage was increased in 2016 from 15% to 25% to pay for the refurbishment of Buckingham Palace.
The FT notes that a more direct source of income is the Duchy of Lancaster. This owns extensive farmland in the north of England, the Savoy Estate in London, mining and offshore rights and is valued at £653 million. The 2021/22 surplus was £24 million and under recent reforms is used to fund the wider Royal Family beyond the King and Queen (in 2022).
The King also holds privately Balmoral and Sandringham, the Royal Stamp Collection and the late Queen’s race horses.
Finally as the Duke of Cornwall Prince William now has charge of the Duchy of Cornwall which has assets of £1.05 billion and made a profit of £23 million in 2022.
Its fair to say that the new King won’t be facing a cost of living crisis this winter. The same may not be true for those of his employees he plans to make redundant.
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