King Charles to reveal personal tax bill in first for a British monarch

King Charles III will disclose his personal tax payments during Buckingham Palace's annual sovereign grant briefing. The move is meant to bolster transparency around royal finances amid scrutiny of the monarchy.

In Short

• Buckingham Palace will outline sovereign grant spending in its annual briefing
• Prince William is expected to mirror the disclosure at a separate briefing
• Andrew controversy has intensified demands for greater openness around monarchy operations

King Charles III is expected to become the first British monarch to disclose his personal tax bill on Thursday, with Buckingham Palace set to release the details during its annual briefing on the sovereign grant. The move comes amid growing calls for greater transparency in royal finances, following months of scrutiny over the affairs of his younger brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

Charles had earlier disclosed details of the tax he paid on his personal income when he was Prince of Wales, but this will be the first time he is doing so since becoming king after the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022. Prince William, the current Prince of Wales, is also expected to follow the same approach at a separate briefing.

The annual briefing will also cover the sovereign grant, through which taxpayers fund the monarchy. Last year, Buckingham Palace published a 159-page report detailing how it spent the 86.3 million pounds it received from the Treasury, including money used for a major renovation of the palace.

The latest move comes as lawmakers and the public seek more openness about how the monarchy works, especially after revelations involving the former Prince Andrew, who was stripped of his titles in 2025. Now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, he is under investigation for misconduct in public office linked to his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He has also been made to leave a large royal estate where he had been living without paying rent.

According to the BBC, citing palace sources, the king took the personal decision to disclose his tax payments as part of an effort to "encourage wider understanding and accountability". Even before the Mountbatten-Windsor controversy, Charles had said he wanted to slim down the monarchy and reduce costs as questions grew over the place of a hereditary sovereign in a modern democracy.

Charles has a personal fortune estimated at 680 million pounds, placing him at number 230 on the Sunday Times' annual list of Britain's richest people. Although the monarch is not required to pay income tax, Charles pays tax voluntarily on his private income. Queen Elizabeth II began doing so in 1993 after public anger over the cost of restoring Windsor Castle following a major fire the year before. That arrangement was later formalised through a memorandum of understanding between the government and the Crown, which gives Charles the same right to privacy as any other taxpayer.

The king is expected to disclose tax details only on his private income, which mainly comes from the privately owned Balmoral and Sandringham estates, along with savings and investments. Balmoral in Scotland covers more than 50,000 acres and includes Balmoral Castle, where the king spends his summer. Parts of the estate are open to the public and it offers guided tours, afternoon tea and golf. Sandringham, on England's east coast, covers 20,000 acres and serves as the king's country retreat, with its house and gardens open to visitors and much of its land farmed by the estate or by tenants.

The king does not pay tax on the sovereign grant or on other income used for official duties. Prince William's main private income comes from the Duchy of Cornwall, a land and investment portfolio held in trust by the Prince of Wales during his lifetime. The duchy owns about 130,000 acres of land and reported a profit of 22.9 million pounds last year. It is overseen by a board of directors, and major decisions require Treasury approval. Together, the expected disclosures by Charles and William are set to form part of a broader push to make royal finances more transparent.

With PTI Inputs

- Ends