King Charles becomes first monarch to reveal tax bill as royal public funding to double to £100m
Officials said the decision for the King and Queen to continue living at Clarence House, where they have lived since 2005, was made to provide greater public access to Buckingham Palace.
Renovations to the palace, worth just under £370 million, are due to be completed in March next year.
It is hoped this will also allow the landmark to generate more revenue.
This will mark the first time since Queen Victoria’s reign that a monarch has chosen to reside away from Buckingham Palace.
Historian Anna Whitelock told BBC News that the King’s announcement of the tax bill showed him “front and centre, as a very rich man”.
He said the statement was a direct response to calls for greater accountability and financial transparency in the monarchy, particularly in recent weeks and months.
“I think it’s very much a sign of the times, and it’s an attempt by the monarchy to come to the fore before they’re absolutely forced to show that they’re responsive and not reactive.”
Norman Baker, the former Liberal Democrat Home Secretary and critic of royal finances, told BBC News that sales of Buckingham Palace visitor tickets should go to the Treasury and not the Royal Family.
“They bring in millions every year, so what if they don’t live in Buckingham Palace? [they] “This place should be opened to the public and all the money coming from visitors for 12 months of the year should go to the Treasury and cover the renovation costs,” he said.
He added that the tax payments showed that both the King and Prince William’s source of income was “enormous” and that it needed to be explained why they were “so expensive”.
“If Charles is talking about weakening the monarchy and William, we not only want fewer people on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, we want costs to be cut as well.”
It was also revealed that operating profits at the Crown Estate, an independently run commercial enterprise that oversees the Royal Family’s estates and whose profits go to the Treasury, fell last year.
The Sovereign Grant is based on a percentage of the Crown Estate’s profits. The grant comes from the Treasury, not the Crown Estate, but the Crown Estate is used as a reference.
Operating profit fell to £1.2bn in March, compared to £1.4bn last year.
The figures showed that the decline was primarily linked to offshore wind, with the previous rise in fees linked to offshore wind tapering off and projects now starting construction.
Earnings have soared to record levels in the past two years, thanks to option fees (payments companies make to reserve a portion of the seabed to build wind turbines).
