Why the Royal Family's Income Just Increased By a Whopping $58 Million
Now that's an impressive pay rise.
![The royal family wave on the Buckingham Palace balcony](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/u3o7QPVCJpKLXLDUwySLSQ-415-80.jpg)
The royal family are known for many things, including their impressive wealth. King Charles, for instance, is reportedly worth the hefty sum of $770 million, and it looks as though his bank balance is about to get even bigger. The Crown Estate, which is comprised of property and land owned by the royal family, just released its annual finance report showing a profit of £1.1 billion (approximately $1.42 billion), according to the BBC.
The frankly jaw-dropping figure is apparently due to additional profits generated by six offshore wind farms. As a result, the royal family's Sovereign Grant will receive a huge boost, and it's not your average pay rise. While the Sovereign Grant stood at £86.3 million (approximately $111.5 million) for the year 2024/25, it's set to increase to £132m ($170.6 million) for 2025/2026, the BBC reported.
King Charles and Queen Camilla will find themselves approximately $58 million richer in 2025.
The Sovereign Grant funds a plethora of official duties and activities carried out by the royal family, from international travel to garden parties. Even though the grant is funded by the U.K. tax payer, the amount awarded to the royals each year is directly linked to the profits the Crown Estate makes. In 2023, it was decided that the royals would receive the equivalent of 12% of the Crown Estate's profits, rather than 25%, purely because the wind farms had generated so much income, per the BBC.
While being royal seems to cost a colossal amount of money, King Charles actually suggested the reduced percentage. According to the BBC, Charles hoped that the family's good fortune would mean more money could be used for the "wider public good," which is a pretty refreshing sentiment coming from an actual king.
King Charles and Queen Camilla will use some of the extra funds to complete repairs on Buckingham Palace.
Alongside receiving funding from the Sovereign Grant, King Charles also made money as the owner of the Duchy of Cornwall. One of the king's former royal aides told the Sunday Times Rich List in 2024, “He became prudent at tucking away some money from the Duchy after that wipeout [of capital due to his divorce from Princess Diana]." They continued, “We’re not talking vast sums here — several tens of millions, no more. There have been suggestions that Camilla brought a good deal of money into their relationship, but that’s really not correct.”
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Amy Mackelden is a contributing editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.
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