Living Life King-Size: How much King Charles' first year on throne cost British taxpayers

The cost of Britain’s royal family to the UK taxpayer rose by five per cent over the past year — raising questions about the private wealth and lifestyle of King Charles and Britain’s royal family. On Thursday, the British Royal Household issued its annual financial statement. It revealed that official spending in 2022-23 exceeded the Sovereign Grant and other royal-earned revenue. The figure for net expenditure increased by £5.1 million (Rs 51.52 crore) to £107.5 million (Rs 1,112 crore) for 2022-23. Royal aides put the rise in expenditure partly down to the change of monarch following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022 and the succession of King Charles in May. They also blamed soaring inflation and the cost-of-living crisis for a five per cent increase in expenditure. Let’s take a closer look. The cost of royalty According to a CNN report, the Royal Household’s net expenditure was reported to be £107.5 million (Rs 1,112 crore), compared to the total Sovereign Grant of £86.3 million (Rs 893 crore) and the additional income of £9.8 million (Rs 101 crore). The Sovereign Grant is an annual payment made by the treasury to the monarch to fund the monarch’s official duties. It covers the costs of travel, security, staff and the upkeep of royal palaces. [caption id=“attachment_12804262” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Other main drivers of expenditure include a 10-year programme of upgrades to electrical cabling, plumbing and heating at Buckingham Palace, the monarch’s official residence. AP[/caption] The report said £1.6 million (Rs 16.58 crore) had been spent by the royals on the queen’s funeral and related events. The British government said in May it had cost an estimated 162 million pounds overall, which includes the cost of policing and security, according to Reuters. Other main drivers of expenditure include a 10-year programme of upgrades to electrical cabling, plumbing and heating at Buckingham Palace, the monarch’s official residence. Spending on travel dropped by £600,000 to £3.9 million (Rs 6.21 crore to Rs 40.36 crore), while housekeeping and hospitality rose from £1.3 million to £2.4 million (Rs 13.45 crore to Rs 24.84 crore). Property maintenance fell £6.1 million to £57.8 million (Rs 63.15 crore to RS 598 crore). The Royal Household spent £2.7 million (Rs 27.98 crore) on gas and electricity over the past year, up from £1.4 million (Rs 14.50 crore) in the previous 12 months, even though consumption was down. Accounts also show that payroll costs saw one of the biggest increases in 2022-23, rising £3.4 million (Rs 35.24 crore) to £27.1million (Rs 280 crore), with staff getting around a five to six per cent rise. Cuts at Buckingham Palace King Charles seems to be looking at money-saving measures. He had already ordered the heating in royal homes to be turned down to cut emissions. The Sun revealed last year that the King Charles had installed a smart metre in Balmoral, with temperatures set at 19C in the winter and a few degrees lower in empty rooms. Additionally, the new monarch has also asked that the pool heater at Buckingham Palace be turned down. [caption id=“attachment_12804282” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] King Charles had installed a smart metre in Balmoral, with temperatures set at 19C in the winter and a few degrees lower in empty rooms. AP[/caption] The Palace insisted the move echoes the King’s long-standing eco-credentials which he has “reinforced to the Royal Household”. The report also revealed that the royal household has failed again to meet its diversity target, set in 2021, of drawing 10 per cent of its workforce from ethnic minorities, with the 2023 figure of 9.7 per cent the same as last year. “We are determined to accelerate progress in this area,” said Michael Stevens, the royal treasurer. ‘Royals get too much’ The Palace blamed the rise in spending on inflationary pressures, which they say have impacted on all organisations. An additional factor was the merging of the late Queen Elizabeth’s household staff with the new monarchs’ team following her death. Sir Michael Stevens, Keeper of the Privy Purse, said the past 12 months — including the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and her passing, then the Coronation — had been “a year of grief, change and celebration, the like of which our nation has not ­witnessed for seven decades,” as per a report in Reuters. Royal critics said that the monarchy cost significantly more than the report revealed. As the UK is currently in the grip of a cost-of-living crisis, with inflation hitting 8.7 per cent last month, former Liberal Democrat MP and royal spending expert Norman Baker believes the royals get too much. He was quoted saying by The Sun: “Whilst everyone else has tightened their belts, the Royal Family are ­living at the public’s expense. The money coming from these so-called reserves is because they’ve overclaimed in previous years, so they’re not really reserves.” With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.