Royal Family report shows net expenditure funded by the Sovereign Grant fell by £18.4m
The drop-off is due in part to a fall in spending on Buckingham Palace renovations
PA
Taxpayer-funded royal spending has fallen by nearly £20million in the last year, Buckingham Palace has announced.
The spending - which comes under the remit of the Sovereign Grant - had soared to more than £107m in 2022, but latest royal accounts have put the new figure a significant fraction lower.
In the financial year ending March 31, 2024, the net expenditure of the Sovereign Grant fell to £89.1m - an £18.4m drop from 2023's £107.5m.
The fall represents a 17 per cent decrease from the last year - which is due "in large part" to a reduction in spending on the Buckingham Palace Reservicing Programme, a £369m multi-year-spanning series of works on the monarch's residence.
Latest royal accounts have put the new figure a significant fraction lower than 2023's
PA
The total Sovereign Grant - the payment the British government makes to the Royal Family - has stayed at £86.3m for the third consecutive year.
This figure comprises a "core grant" of £51.8m which funds official travel, property maintenance and the operating costs of The Sovereign's household and an additional temporary amount for the palace renovations of £34.5m.
In return for the grant, under the conditions of the Sovereign Grant Act 2011, the King hands over the revenue generated by the Crown Estate to the Exchequer.
Latest government figures place the Crown Estate payouts at a staggering £3billion over the last decade - over three times the total grant allocation in the same time period.
MORE ON ROYAL SPENDING:
In return for the grant, the King hands over the revenue generated by the Crown Estate to the Exchequer.
PA
All in all, the Sovereign Grant amounted to £1.29 per person in the UK - when not factoring in the extra cash for the Buckingham Palace Reservicing, this comes to just 77p.
Any discrepancies between the consistent grant allocation and the real-life spending of the King are accounted for by income from the Duchy of Lancaster - described as Privy Purse income.
And reflecting on the accounts, the Keeper of the Privy Purse, Sir Michael Stevens, said: "This is now the third year for which the Sovereign Grant has not increased by one single penny, despite the supplementary costs incurred by the change of reign and despite the double-digit inflationary pressures that have impacted on goods and services for all organisations in that same period.
"What has remained constant is the determination to deliver value for money in ensuring the Royal Family are able to serve our communities to the best of their abilities, even in difficult personal circumstances."
The Sovereign Grant has remained higher than normal for a number of years to account for "Reservicing"
PA
The latest figures may not come as welcome reading for anti-Monarchists; just days ago, the State Opening of Parliament found itself at the centre of a protesting storm when activists from Republic demonstrated in the heart of London.
Though supporters of the monarchy insist the institution is value for money, and brings far more into the UK economy and culture than it takes out, opinion polls are not quite as glowing.
Surveys carried out by pollsters at Ipsos have placed the family at a 49 per cent approval rating - with almost a quarter of Britons disapproving of the royals.
Though the future appears to be in safe hands - the Prince and Princess of Wales enjoy both 62 and 61 per cent net approvability - without taking the latter's cancer diagnosis into account.