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% of the Crown Estate’s annual surplus, which includes an extra 10% for the refurbishment of Buckingham Palace.
Six new offshore wind energy lease agreements, announced by the Crown Estate on Thursday, have generated a major windfall for the Estate, which would usually lead to a jump in the monarchy’s official funding. But Charles, 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.
It is not clear as to the exact amount of taxpayer funding the King has passed up and asked to be used for public good, but it is likely to be many millions. The Crown Estate – an ancient portfolio of land and property – belongs to the reigning monarch ‘in right of The Crown’ but it is not their private property.
