Despite the public scrutiny and personal struggles that marked the first full year of King Charles III’s reign, the British royal family had a hugely profitable year – which will translate into a 50% pay raise for the monarch.
Britain’s Crown Estate had a record-setting net revenue profit of $1.42 billion (£1.1 billion) this year – a $847.37 million increase from last year, according to the estate’s annual report.
Portions of the crown estate’s profits fund the British royal family – in part through the sovereign grant, which the family uses to pay for their official duties. In response to the record-setting profits, the sovereign grant is expected to be increased from $93.6 million in 2024-2025 to $143.2 million.
“Although King Charles won’t directly pocket this money, it will go into a budget over which he has significant input, alongside key management and advisers,” Alex King, the founder of Generation Money, a finance and investing site, told Fortune. “Essentially, the money will go towards paying for the monarch’s official state business, including hosting foreign leaders, attending official engagements and travel abroad.”
The budget increase – which is expected to persist into 2027 – will specifically be used “to fund the final stages of the Buckingham Palace reservicing programme, enabling it to be complete both on time and on budget,” Michael Stevens, the king’s Keeper of the Privy Purse told the Guardian.
The Crown Estate – the lands and holdings belonging to the monarch – is an unusual entity that is neither fully publicly or privately owned. Dan Labbad, the chief executive officer at the Crown Estate, partially attributed the growth to investments in offshore wind energy production.
These profits come during a tumultuous period for both the British royal family and the United Kingdom as a whole. Earlier this year, both King Charles and Catherine, the Princess of Wales, were diagnosed with cancer – forcing them to pull back on their official duties. At the same time, the British people are facing an extreme cost of living crisis that has led to some people criticizing the expense of maintaining a largely symbolic monarchy.
“No cost of living squeeze for indulged King Charles,” Kevin Maguire, an associate editor at the British newspaper the Daily Mirror wrote on X. “After his 53% [pay increase] our nurses and teachers should demand more than a measly 5.5%.”