King Charles III made to wait for $60 million pay raise as Britons grapple with cost of living

King Charles III's monarchy will not get a pay raise this year, but the Sovereign Grant will go up by around $60 million in the 2026-2027 year, accounts showed.

King Charles III's monarchy will not get a pay raise this year, but the Sovereign Grant will go up by more than 45 million pounds or around $60 million in the 2026-2027 year, accounts showed.

As many of his fellow Britons cope with a cost-of-living crisis, the grant which is paid for by the public and used for royal spending and upkeep of royal assets, remained at around 86 million pounds ($110 million) for the 2024-2025 year, latest annual figures from the Crown Estate showed. The grant will rise to around $170 million next year and remain stable for 2026-2027.

The increase of more than 53% came as the monarchy reported record offshore wind farm profits to the Crown Estate, which is a vast royal collection of land and property across the United Kingdom. This will be used primarily to fund the ongoing refurbishment of Buckingham Palace, according to a Sovereign Grant report released Tuesday.

Funded by the taxpayer, the Sovereign Grant is used to support the official duties of the monarch and other costs such as official travel, thousands of engagements, staff for working royals and the maintenance of occupied palaces.

It is based on a proportion of profits from the Crown Estate, an independently managed portfolio of assets, including luxury properties in central London, historical estates, rural land and the seabed around England, Wales and Northern Ireland worth around 15 billion pounds ($20.6 billion).