In a landmark shift for Britain’s monarchy, Buckingham Palace says King Charles III has paid more than £30 million (€34 million) in personal taxes since taking the throne in September 2022—marking the first time a reigning British sovereign has disclosed such figures.
The palace, which confirmed over the weekend that it would publish the information, framed the move as part of its “commitment to transparency” at a time when royal finances face intensifying public scrutiny.
Prince William, the king’s eldest son and heir, also released personal tax details for the first time. The 44-year-old has paid more than £20 million (€23 million) in taxes since becoming Prince of Wales when his father became king.
Although UK monarchs are legally exempt from paying certain taxes, they have voluntarily paid some duties for decades, and they are not required to make their private tax payments public.
“The amount of tax payable by his majesty since accession is more than £30 million,” the palace said as part of a broader press release covering multiple areas of royal finances.
The Prince of Wales paid more than £20 million in income and capital gains taxes since inheriting the title
The palace said that across the two full British tax years since Charles acceded to the throne on 10 September 2022, his personal tax bill came to £24.6 million.
That total was made up of £11.7 million for 2023 – 24 and £12.9 million for 2024 – 25.
In Britain, the tax year runs from early April.
No figure was provided for 2022 to 2023.
For William, the palace said he has paid more than £20 million in income and capital gains taxes since inheriting the Prince of Wales title when Charles became king.
William paid £8.34 million in 2023 – 24 and £7.76 million in the 2024 – 25 tax year.
Charles had already established a practice of publishing his personal tax information while he was heir to the throne.
What has changed now is the precedent: by continuing disclosures as monarch, Charles has departed from long-standing custom. His mother, Queen Elizabeth II, did not release such details during her record-breaking seven-decade reign.
Funding for the British monarchy comes from a mix of sources.
These include the publicly-funded Sovereign Grant and private income from the Duchy of Lancaster, worth tens of millions of pounds more, which supports personal expenses and helps meet some official costs.
Other private income sources for the sovereign include Balmoral and Sandringham, alongside art, jewellery and stamp collections, investments and private savings.
Scruntiny has renewed amid recent scandals surrounding theformer prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor
Under UK law, monarchs are not required to pay income, capital gains or inheritance taxes.
Since 1993, however, they have voluntarily paid the first two, following public pressure and a renewed focus on the royals’ opaque finances after the Windsor Castle fire led to costly repair work.
That scrutiny has resurfaced amid recent scandals involving the disgraced former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, including revelations that he had been paying only a token “peppercorn” rent for a mansion on a Windsor estate.
The same disclosures set out that the Sovereign Grant—the monarchy’s core public funding—will be fixed at £99.9 million a year in 2027 – 28.
The annual government payment, which covers official duties and the upkeep of palaces, had been raised by more than half in 2025- 2026 to £132.1 million, largely to meet renovation costs at Buckingham Palace and other royal properties.
The palace said the grant will rise again in 2026 – 27 to £137.9 million, intended to “deliver funding for the final year” of the £370-million refurbishment of Buckingham Palace.
It added that the king and Queen Camilla “will not make Buckingham Palace a personal residence” once the 10-year modernisation programme is completed.
The palace said the decision reflected “their majesties’ wishes that the palace remains the ceremonial centre of royal life, the primary workplace of the royal household and a national heritage asset with increased opportunities for public access”.
Clarence House, nearby, will remain the couple’s London home, it said.
According to the palace, the uplift in grant funding is also designed to tackle maintenance backlogs at occupied royal palaces, install more energy-efficient heating systems, and strengthen cyber security, among other priorities.
Separately, the Crown Estate—an independent commercial operation that manages extensive royal land and property holdings while passing its profits to the government—reported that earnings dropped over the past year.
Those profits help determine the size of the Sovereign Grant, which is currently set at 12% of Crown Estate proceeds from two years earlier.
For the year to March, the estate’s operating profits fell to £1.2 billion.
That compares with £1.4 billion a year earlier, with the decline mainly attributed to lower offshore wind fees as projects moved into a new construction phase.
