Royal Finance
Royal Finances: What the Monarchy Really Costs
The Royal Finances page looks past the headlines and ceremony to ask a simple question: what does the British monarchy actually cost, what is it worth, and what does the country get in return? Here we break down the official funding the Royal Family receives, the wider “hidden” costs that rarely make it into the public debate, and the estimates of both royal wealth and the economic benefits the institution is claimed to generate.
What Does the Royal Family Cost Each Year?
The main stream of public money for the monarchy is the Sovereign Grant. This pays for the monarch’s official duties, travel, staffing, and the upkeep of royal residences.
- In 2022–23, the Sovereign Grant was £86.3 million.
- Of this, the “core grant” was £51.8 million, and an additional £34.5 million was allocated for major refurbishment and works.
- That worked out at roughly £1.29 per person in the UK for that year.
Looking ahead, a Parliamentary briefing has set the Sovereign Grant for 2025–26 at £132.1 million, reflecting ongoing work on the royal estate and the rising cost of maintaining the institution.
Wider “Hidden” Costs
The official Sovereign Grant figures do not tell the whole story. Critics argue that the true annual cost of the monarchy to taxpayers and public bodies is significantly higher once you factor in:
- Security for the Royal Family and royal residences.
- Local council costs linked to royal visits and events.
- Loss of potential revenue from royal estates and properties that cannot be freely developed or sold.
The campaign group Republic, for example, has estimated that the Royal Family costs Britain around £510 million a year when these wider expenses are included. Supporters of the monarchy dispute these figures, but the gap between official and unofficial estimates is a key part of the debate.
What Is the Royal Family Worth?
Putting a precise number on the total wealth of the Royal Family is almost impossible. Many royal assets are held in trust, are not personally owned, cannot be sold, or have values that are contested.
Even so, some analysts have tried to put a figure on it. One estimate places the total Royal Family wealth at around £22 billion, once you factor in royal estates, properties and other holdings. Within that, the private wealth of the King has been estimated at roughly £1.8 billion.
These figures raise a crucial distinction: the difference between the Crown’s institutional assets (held for the nation and future monarchs) and the private personal wealth of individual royals.
What Do We Get in Return?
Supporters of the monarchy argue that, while the institution is costly, it also delivers significant economic benefits. These are said to include:
- Tourism linked to royal palaces, ceremonies and events.
- Global media exposure and branding associated with the Royal Family.
- The monarchy’s role in the “soft power” and international image of the UK.
One analysis by Brand Finance estimated that, in 2017, the monarchy generated a “gross uplift” to the UK economy of around £1.766 billion through tourism, licensing and brand value. On that basis, some argue the figure could be higher today.
Whether these benefits truly justify the cost is at the heart of the argument over the monarchy’s future. This page doesn’t tell you what to think; it lays out the numbers, the claims and the counter-claims, so you can decide for yourself what “value for money” means when it comes to the Crown.