AN urgent review of how the royal family is funded is needed as the Sovereign Grant has rocketed by a staggering 53%, campaigners have said.
Last year, it was announced the grant that funds the monarchy is due to increase to more than £132 million this year – a rise of more than £45m.
That hike will kick in this weekend just days after the Labour Government confirmed swingeing cuts to disability benefits which are expected to plunge 250,000 more people into poverty.
Graham Smith, CEO of anti-monarchy group Republic, said the funding system for the monarchy is “mad”, with the grant linked to government profits from land managed by the Crown Estate.
Official royal accounts released last year revealed that huge profits of more than £1 billion from the Crown Estate meant the taxpayer-funded Sovereign Grant would rise to £132m in 2025/26.
The surge in profits from the estate was due to six new offshore wind farms.
Smith said: “The Sovereign Grant makes up just a quarter of the total cost of the monarchy, estimated to be well over half a billion pounds a year.
"The grant system is mad. Funding goes up not because of any need for extra money, but because the grant is linked to government profits from land managed by the Crown Estate.
"The palace has recycled the excuse of needing the money for [the] refurbishment of Buckingham Palace, an excuse used to double the grant 10 years ago.
"The simple fact is we only need one head of state, and that office can cost as little as £5 million. The president of Ireland costs around £4 million a year."
"It is obscene to see the billionaire royals rake in another £45 million in funding when disabled people are suffering cuts to their support, when schools and hospitals are struggling, and when household bills continue to rise."
An annual finance report last year also revealed plans by the royal family to buy two new helicopters.
Republic said the real cost of the royals is £510m a year, with security costs estimated at £150m.
Security isn’t part of the calculation of the Sovereign Grant, which covers spending such as staffing, travel, and the upkeep of royal buildings.
On the “true cost” of the monarchy, Smith said: “It's time that half a billion pounds was put to good use, that there was proper accounting for the cost of the monarchy and for that cost to be slashed to just a few million pounds.
"Then it's time to ask why the royals have gotten away with this abuse of public money for so long."
Republic has also launched a major campaign called Ditch the Duchies arguing the Duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster “are public property” and do not belong to the royal family.
A report released earlier this year called for the abolition of both estates and for their revenue to be spent on local communities through a new “National Estate”.
Buckingham Palace insists the duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall – two vast property empires that generate private income for the monarch and the monarch’s male heir respectively – are “private” estates.
However, there has long been a debate over who really owns them and who is entitled to their profits - the royals or the people.
In January, it emerged Prince William is set to receive millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money from the vacant HMP Dartmoor in Devon, which is owned by the Duchy of Cornwall and leased to the Ministry of Justice.
William’s estate is not responsible for upkeep and even has a “dilapidations clause” under the terms of the lease, meaning the taxpayer is essentially liable for any repairs.
Last year Charles took more than £27 million from the Duchy of Lancaster, while William received more than £23m from Cornwall.
