King Charles has become the first monarch in modern times to reveal how much tax he pays on his private income: £24.6m over the last two years. The disclosure, published on Friday, follows years of calls for the monarch to be more open with the public about the royal finances.
Some are heralding the revelation as the start of a new era of transparency. But critics question just how open the disclosure really is. The figure covers only private income – not the vast wealth generated by the Crown Estate or the Duchy of Lancaster, which fund official royal duties, nor the sovereign grant that supports the monarchy’s public role.
“King Charles discloses £24.6m tax bill over two years, a first for a modern monarch.”
The details emerged in a broadcast by the Guardian’s Today in Focus podcast, presented by Lucy Hough and featuring European financial affairs editor Juliette Garside. The programme, produced by Aisha Riaz and Jacob Antigha, examined what the tax bill means for the monarchy’s long-standing tradition of financial secrecy.
For decades, the royal family has resisted releasing detailed accounts of the King’s private earnings from investments and property. The £24.6m payment – covering two financial years – is a fraction of the estimated hundreds of millions held in Charles’s personal portfolio, much of which remains opaque.
“Some are heralding this as a new era of transparency,” Hough stated in the programme, reflecting the mixed reaction. Supporters see the move as a step towards modernisation, matching standards expected of other public institutions. Detractors argue that without full disclosure of assets, the tax bill alone offers an incomplete picture.
The unprecedented disclosure comes amid broader scrutiny of royal finances and the cost to taxpayers of maintaining the monarchy. Charles, who succeeded his mother in 2022, has long signalled a desire to slim down the monarchy and increase openness, but this is the first concrete financial concession to that promise.
Whether the revelation marks a genuine shift or a calculated gesture remains an open question. The King’s office has not commented beyond the tax figures, and the debate over what constitutes sufficient transparency looks set to continue.