The King has asked for profits from a £1 billion-a-year Crown Estate wind farm deal to be used for the “wider public good” rather than as a funding boost for the monarchy.
Under the taxpayer-funded Sovereign Grant, which is currently £86.3 million a year, the King receives 25 per cent of the Crown Estate’s annual surplus, which includes an extra 10 per cent for the refurbishment of Buckingham Palace.
Six new offshore wind energy lease agreements, announced by the Crown Estate, have generated a major windfall, which would usually lead to a jump in the monarchy’s official funding. But the King, who highlighted the cost-of-living crisis in his Christmas message, has requested that the extra funds “be directed for wider public good”, instead of to the Sovereign Grant, at a time when many are facing financial hardship.
