Running The Royal Family Costs Taxpayers This Much

One of the reasons why fans of Queen Elizabeth, Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle follow their lives is that these royals are living the life of glamor and opulence that everyone is dreaming of. But this lavish lifestyle comes at a price, and now British taxpayers know exactly how much they paid to keep the monarch up and running last year.

The royal family received a total of £82.2 million (around $105 million) from the U.K. government last year via the Sovereign Grant, according to a report by Express. The sum can be further divided into a core grant of £49.3 million, which helped cover official expenses incurred in running the monarchy, as well as an extra £32.9 million to cover the cost of the 10-year £369-million refurbishment of Buckingham Palace.

The publication stated that based on the £82.2 amount, this means that every British taxpayer had to pay £1.24. It is, however, worth noting that the royal family didn’t spend the entire amount since only £67 million was used last fiscal year, which ended on March 31, 2019. The rest was placed in a reserve fund to help finance future Buckingham Palace renovation costs.

Among the biggest expense items are the £1 million spent to resurface Kensington Palace’s drive, as well as the £700,000 spent for a newly installed central heating for the private apartments of the Queen and other royal family members in Windsor Castle.

Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles’ international travels were also listed among the biggest expenditures. Their West African tour carried a price tag of £216,312, while the Caribbean tour on March cost £416,576.

The Sovereign Grant is the U.K. government’s yearly payment to the Royal Household, which might vary in amount every year. The exact amount is determined by how much income was earned from the Crown Estate, a portfolio of land and properties surrendered by George III to the government in 1760, according to NewsWeek.

The publication wrote that since 2016, the Royal Household received 25 percent of the net income from the Crown Estate. However, a report released by the royal family revealed that the Sovereign Fund is not their only source of funding.

“Income from the Duchy of Lancaster forms part of The Queen's Privy Purse income,” Buckingham Palace wrote in its report. “Privy Purse is a historical term used to describe The Queen's private income and it is largely used to meet official expenditure incurred by Her Majesty and other members of the Royal Family which is not met by the Sovereign Grant, and is taxed to the extent that the income is not used for official purposes.”

Another income source is the Duchy of Cornwall. “Income from the Duchy of Cornwall funds the private and official expenditure of The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall and is taxed to the extent it is not used to meet official expenditure,” the report explained.