I’m curious about the sources of income for the British royal family! We have thoroughly researched the assets, sources of income, and income of King Charles and members of the Royal Family, and what they spend their income on!
The British Royal Family is also the most famous royal family in the world, but not many people know how the British Royal Family operates.
The operating expenses of the Japanese Imperial Family are raised as “Imperial Household Expenses” from taxes paid by the Japanese people. In contrast, how are the operating expenses of the Royal Family in the U.K. raised?
This article will provide a detailed look at the financial resources of the British royal family, from its income to its uses.
We hope you will use this article to deepen your understanding of the British Royal Family.
- 1 I’m curious about the source of income for the British royal family!
- 2 Is the British Royal Family run by taxpayers?
- 3 What is the “dukedom” held by royalty?
- 4 King Charles’ Assets
- 5 What are the sources of income for other members of the royal family?
- 6 What is the income of the British Royal Family used for?
- 7 Who is the richest royal family in the world?
- 8 To learn more about the world’s royal families…
I’m curious about the source of income for the British royal family!
What are some of the sources of income for the British royal family?
As it turns out, the source of income for the British royal family is financed from the profits of real estate owned by the British royal family.
The British Royal Family is well known for its large profits from real estate, which is said to be the largest real estate business in the United Kingdom.
In addition to that, individuals also have separate incomes, and the British royal family has a variety of financial resources.
This article will go into each of these issues, and we hope that you will read it through to the end.
Is the British Royal Family run by taxpayers?
The British Royal Family operates not from taxes from the public, but from its own sources of income.
While the Japanese Imperial Family is calculated from the national budget and financed by taxes from the public, the British Royal Family has its own source of income.
The British Royal Family operates using its own sources of income, so basically no taxes are used to run the Royal Family.
However, sometimes taxpayer funds are used to run the royal household.
For example, the renovation of Buckingham Palace, where the British royal family conducts official business, began in 2017.
The renovation is estimated to cost approximately 369 million pounds (62 billion yen), which will be paid for from taxpayer funds.
Thus, sometimes taxpayer funds are used to perform official duties.
Mainly “royal grants.”
The main source of income for the British Royal Family is the Royal Grant. Royal grants are paid by the government to support the official work of the British Royal Family.
In practice, the system is such that a portion of the profits derived from the income of the Crown Estate (real estate owned by the British Royal Family), described below, is paid to the British Royal Family.
Most of the Crown Estate’s revenues go directly to the government, but about 15% is given to the British Royal Family as a royal grant.
What is the Crown Estate, the real estate owned by the King?
Crown estates are land, buildings, and other real estate officially owned by the Crown, rather than the private property of the King or Queen of England.
Crown Estates includes
- Principality of Lancaster
- Duchy of Cornwall
- Buckingham Palace
- Sandringal House
- Kensington Palace
- Balmoral Castle
- Holyrood Palace
- St. James’s Palace
- Windsor Castle
- Clarence House
The British Royal Family is said to be worth about 14.3 billion pounds (about 2.226 trillion yen) in assets at the Crown Estate, which generates about 200 million pounds (about 32.6 billion yen) in revenue annually.
Please note that the Crown Estate is managed by an independent committee, not by the Royal Family.
Income from public domain
In addition to the Crown Estate, which is officially held by the Royal Family, the British Royal Family also receives income from the public domain.
Although generally recognized as part of the Crown Estate, the owner is not the British Royal Family, but the estate is 100% privately owned by Queen Elizabeth and Prince William.
The public domain is used for a variety of purposes, including commercial facilities and agricultural land, and boasts enormous property values.
Buckingham Palace is another asset.
The Crown Estate also includes Buckingham Palace, where members of the British Royal Family hold official functions.
Buckingham Palace became an estate owned by the British royal family when King George III purchased the pavilion built by the Duke of Buckingham in 1703 around 1760.
Later, George IV, who succeeded to the throne, completely renovated the building, and after 12 years, it is said to have been completed as Buckingham Palace.
Buckingham Palace has been open to the public since 1992, and the cost of the tours contributes to the operation of the British Royal Family as part of the Crown Estate’s revenue.
What is the “dukedom” held by royalty?
We have told you about “income from the duchy ” as one of the revenues of the British royal family, but not many people may have a firm understanding of what exactly the duchy is.
Here are some of the duchies held by members of the British Royal Family.
The following two duchies are held by members of the British Royal Family.
- Principality of Lancaster
- Duchy of Cornwall
We will now tell you about the above two public domain.
What is a public domain?
What exactly is a public domain?
A duchy is defined as “the estate of a duke or duchess or duchess of Cornwall.” In the British royal family, the Duchy of Lancaster and the Duchy of Cornwall have been passed down to members of the royal family for generations.
However, it is basically considered “the Crown Prince’s territory,” and the British Royal Family is no exception to this rule.
As discussed below, the Duchy of Cornwall is 100% owned by Charles III, and Prince Charles derives much of his income from the Duchy.
Principality of Lancaster
The Duchy of Lancaster is a duchy held by a member of the British Royal Family.
The Duchy of Lancaster is a duchy owned by the King of England for generations and is an estate that generates approximately $200 million in revenue each year.
Although it is often presented as one of the Crown Estates, it was actually owned by Queen Elizabeth and is managed separately from the Crown Estates.
The Duchy of Lancaster straddles England and Wales and covers an area of 18,433 ha.
It consists of urban development, historical buildings, and commercial facilities, and is said to generate approximately 20 million pounds (about 3 billion yen) in annual revenue.
Duchy of Cornwall
The Duchy of Cornwall was a fief held 100% by Charles III and now passed to Prince William.
It includes farmland, forests, residential real estate and commercial properties, and is estimated to be worth approximately 345 million pounds (56 billion yen).
Although the Dukes of Lancaster and Cornwall are not allowed to sell their assets for personal gain, their annual profits are enormous.
King Charles’ Assets
With the death of Queen Elizabeth on September 8, 2022, King Charles became the new monarch of the United Kingdom.
As a result, the assets held by Queen Elizabeth will be inherited by King Charles, and the Duchy of Cornwall held by King Charles will pass to Prince William.
Here is more information on the inheritance of assets due to the passing of Queen Elizabeth.
Duchy of Cornwall to Prince William
The Duchy of Cornwall, which had been held by King Charles, was passed to Prince William.
King Charles was earning $20-30 million annually from the Duchy of Cornwall, which is now held by Prince William.
Taking over the Duchy of Lancaster
With the death of Queen Elizabeth, the Duchy of Lancaster, which had been held by Queen Elizabeth, was taken over by King Charles.
The Duchy of Cornwall passed to Prince William, who in turn acquired the Duchy of Lancaster, making King Charles’ fortune even more enormous.
Assets inherited from Queen Elizabeth
King Charles took over not only the Duchy of Lancaster, but also the personal property held by Queen Elizabeth.
The estate, including the Duchy of Lancaster, is said to total approximately 370 million pounds (approximately 60 billion yen), and the British Royal Family aims to be financially independent of the government.
In the United Kingdom, inheritance tax is exempted when assets are inherited from the monarch to a direct lineal monarch, so the inheritance tax on assets passed from Queen Elizabeth to King Charles is exempted.
What are the sources of income for other members of the royal family?
Royal grants from the Crown Estate are not the only source of income for members of the royal family.
Sandringham House, privately owned by Queen Elizabeth, and Balmoral Castle in Scotland are other sources of income.
These are also often grouped with Crown estates, but since the holder is Queen Elizabeth, they can be considered the Queen’s personal income.
He is also a successful owner of other racetracks and earns a huge income outside of the Crown Estate.
He also owned various assets such as The Royal Collection, cars, and a jewelry collection.
These assets were also passed on to King Charles after Queen Elizabeth’s demise.
What is the income of the British Royal Family used for?
Royal grants are used for official and basic maintenance of the Royal Family, press relations, security, and travel expenses for members of the Royal Family.
It is also used to maintain and renovate other buildings, such as Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace, where Prince William and his wife will spend the rest of their lives.
In 2016, a major renovation of Buckingham Palace will begin, and the cost of the renovations will amount to 369 million pounds (52.6 billion yen).
Who is the richest royal family in the world?
Although the British royal family earns so much, there are many royal families that earn even more.
The richest royal family in the world is Thailand’s King Rama X, with total assets of around $44 billion (about 5,968.8 billion yen ).
It is also famous for holding “The Golden Jubilee,” the world’s largest diamond at 545 carats.
To learn more about the world’s royal families…
This article has introduced the income, uses, and assets of the British royal family.
Many of you may be new to the fact that the income of the British royal family is real estate, not taxes.
This website thus compiles a variety of information on royal families around the world.
Of course, you can learn not only about the British Royal Family, but also about the Japanese Imperial Family and other royal families around the world.
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