Budget brought into sharp focus the need to stop funding rich royals

While the highest tax rises since 1993 were largely placed upon businesses and the rich, this will inevitably have an impact on working people – almost certainly though a continuation of stagnant wages that have made home ownership a dream for many and seen the birth rate fall to its lowest level since 1938.

But still few are willing to discuss the elephant in the room that could go some way to solving the UK’s problems: the monarchy.

At the State Opening of Parliament, King Charles read a speech he did not write discussing the challenges of the cost of living crisis – while wearing a crown worth an estimated £45 million.

READ MORE: Support for Scottish Labour plunges as voters fear Budget will leave them worse off

Never mind the fact that the King and late Queen’s personal income from the Crown Estate was put at an estimated £1.2 billion in 2023 – almost enough to end homelessness in the UK, which the charity Crisis says would cost £1.9bn.

The disgrace of what is going on with the royal family is even worse when you peek behind their gilded curtain of official statements, engagements and tours. In the year 2023-24, the Crown Estate made £1.1bn in profit. While a portion of this money is used to fund the monarchy through the Sovereign Grant, and the rest is admittedly given to the state, at a time when so many people are struggling to cope with increased bills, the monarchy has been given a pay rise from £86.3m this tax year to £132m in 2025-26.

This is a small amount compared to the UK’s total deficit, yes, but just how many life-saving food banks and electricity bills could it fund this winter? With only a handful of senior working royals left, serious questions need to be asked about whether this pay rise is necessary, even if some of the money is funding the ongoing renovations of Buckingham Palace.

On the subject of royal residences, the King has made an attempt to make them more accessible to the public in Scotland – but for a fee.

(Image: Andrew Milligan/PA)

This summer, he threw open the doors to never-before-seen areas of Balmoral Castle for £100-£140 a head, including afternoon tea. At Dumfries House (where entry fees are charged), he “allowed” members of the public to enjoy a meal in his dining room for just £375 a head. Bargain. While there are inevitable costs incurred with opening up these buildings, the price points suggests it is nothing more than a means to add to the Crown Estate’s vast annual profits.

Surely if this was to promote the heritage of the buildings, tickets could be set at a more reasonable price, or the experiences offered free?

A simple Google search of jobs in the Royal Household shows an assistant housekeeper role with a lower-end starting salary of £25,000. This is less than the London Living Wage (although the successful applicant would have their meals provided).

As someone who knows the brutal reality of London life, this will see the “exceptional” candidate cram themselves into an overcrowded house share for around £800 a month – scrimping and saving through actions like withdrawing from their pension because they cannot afford to contribute. But who cares when you can clean the King’s dishes?

On his 40th birthday, Prince Harry inherited between £7m-£8m from the late Queen Mother’s trust fund, bringing his estimated net worth to around £53m.

But despite this, the Duke of Sussex, who has repeatedly voiced his security concerns about spending time in the UK, believes he should have taxpayer-funded protection despite being a non-working member of the royal family.

A little research shows this is hardly unaffordable for the Duke. Westminster Security puts the price of a private bodyguard in London at between £500-£1000 per day. While this would be a huge sum to the average person, as a multi-millionaire, Harry could hire a ring of security guards on his brief visits to his home country without breaking the bank.

Attitudes towards the monarchy are changing – the October tour of Australia and Samoa saw several protesters, including an Australian senator, proclaim that they no longer wanted an unelected, foreign head of state.

Following last week’s Budget, the anti-monarchy group Republic held similar protests in London. King Charles has himself expressed a vision for a slimmed-down monarchy, suggesting that even he knows that its continued existence is problematic.

If the Windsors are to win any respect with the UK public, especially in Scotland where they have the least support of all, perhaps now is the time to call it a day and hand over their assets to the public so that we can begin to feel like things are changing for the better.

It is not like the royals do not have a vast amount of existing personal wealth to fall back on.