- The Sovereign Grant Bill will deliver the Government's
commitment to reset the Sovereign Grant (the Grant), once the
current work to reservice Buckingham Palace comes to an end.
What does the
Bill do?
- Since 1760, every Monarch has surrendered profits from The
Crown Estate to the Government. These are paid into the
Consolidated Fund and then allocated to public spending in the
usual way. In return, the Sovereign receives funding from the
Government in the form of the Grant.
- The Grant provides funding in support of the Monarch's
official duties including official visits and investitures and
maintenance of the occupied royal palaces (excluding private
residences such as Sandringham House and Balmoral Castle). The
Sovereign Grant does not provide an income to the King or any
other member of the royal family.
- Current legislation prevents the Sovereign Grant falling
from one year to the next. This Bill will change that, enabling
the Grant to be reduced once the Buckingham Palace Reservicing
Programme comes to an end next year.
- The Bill will set the Grant amount for 2027-28, enabling it
to be lower than the
£137.9 million Grant for 2026-27. The exact amount will be
determined by the Royal Trustees' Review, which will be published
before the legislation is introduced.
- In addition, the Bill will introduce a mechanism so that in
future years, the Grant can be reduced from one year to the
next, preventing inappropriately high funding without the need
for further primary legislation.
Territorial extent
and application
- The Bill will extend and apply to the whole of the UK.
Key facts
- Over the last ten years, The Crown Estate has returned more
than £5 billion to the Exchequer.
WithoutthisBill,theSovereignGrantin2027-28wouldremainat
£137.9 million, the same level as in 2026-27, including funding
that is no longer needed once the current Buckingham Palace
Reservicing Programme ends.
- It is also likely the Grant would stay excessively high for
the rest of the decade. Existing legislation restricts the
level of the Grant being reduced from one year to the next.
That reflects the view that many of the duties of the Head of
State cannot be abruptly stopped. However, it also prevents the
Grant being reduced to end the temporary uplift provided for
Buckingham Palace reservicing work.
- Under current legislation, the Grant amount can only be
reduced once unused Sovereign Grant funding (held in the
Sovereign Grant Reserve) has risen above 50 per cent of the
Royal Household's annual expenditure – even if current levels
of funding continued, this would likely take several years to
be triggered.
- In agreeing the funding for the Reservicing Programme in
2016, the previous government recognised that legislation would
be needed to reset the level of the Grant when the works are
complete.
- The Royal Household is supportive, recognising the need to
reset the Grant so that funding that is no longer required can
be stripped out.
