A recent report from anti-monarchy campaigners has claimed that the Royal Family costs taxpayers £510m each year, nearly six times more than the £86m that is generated from state funding through the Sovereign Grant. The funding is mainly generated by the Crown Estate, and covers staffing, travel, and building costs related to royal affairs. However, costs relating to security, including those associated with the protection of the Royal Family, are not included in these figures.
While a definitive cost for security has not been provided, the Republic group, which produced the report, states that £150m is “indicative of a likely cost” based on press reports. Alongside this, the £510m figure provided by the group also includes “lost income,” which refers to the £96m from commercial revenue that the group claims could come from royal residences. The duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall’s property businesses, for example, should be paying into the public purse instead of funding the Prince of Wales and the King respectively, with taxpayers missing out on around £99m each year.
Republic has criticised the current funding for the Royals as being opaque and secretive, and a “scandalous abuse of public money.” The group feels that a head of state should have running costs of between £5m and £10m per year, while the King should have an annual salary of £189,000, with increases pegged to that of the Prime Minister. Buckingham Palace has declined to respond to the allegations contained in the report.
On the other hand, there are also economic benefits from having the Royal Family, such as boosting tourism and supporting overseas trade, which are more difficult to measure but are still significant to some extent. The latest polling shows that 55% of people see the value in the monarchy. Likewise, 59% of people view the institution positively, while 32% see it negatively. Even so, there are significant differences among different age groups, with support for the monarchy strongest among the older population, while a considerable number of younger people are against it
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