Royal family costs taxpayer half a billion pounds a year, according to new report

It's been labelled a 'scandalous abuse of public money'

Anti-monarchy group Republic published their report which says the estimated cost of the royals to British taxpayers is £510m a year.

This is more than six times the £86m in state funding the royals receive through the Sovereign Grant, which is used to support the monarchy and fund its work.

Republic says it reached the much higher figure because it included other factors such as security costs, which the Sovereign Grant does not include.

The anti-monarchists argue that the public should know the true cost of the Royal Family to the taxpayer when there are debates about the future of the monarchy.

Republic's chief executive Graham Smith said: "How can we talk about cutting the winter fuel allowance while wasting half a billion pounds on the royals?" 

The Sovereign Grant covers spending such as staffing, travel and the upkeep of royal buildings. But according to the new reports, this is far from the true cost of the royals.

Republic says the biggest extra hidden cost is security for the family, which it estimates at £150m, the BBC reports.

The groups figure of £510m also includes "lost income" to taxpayers such as an estimated £99m from the property businesses of the duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall.

The money from this business is used to fund King Charles III and the Prince of Wales, but Republic argues it should go to the public purse.

The report suggested £96m could be raised in revenue if royal residences were used for commercial purposes.

Republic labelled the current funding for the royals as secretive and a "scandalous abuse of public money."

It argues a head of state should have running costs of between £5m and £10m a year, and that the King should have an annual salary of £189,000.

The level of funding provided through the Sovereign Grant is calculated against the profits of the Crown Estate

Earlier this year, it was announced the Sovereign Grant would not increase for 2024-25, but the grant will increase in 2025-26 thanks to increased income the Crown Estate was getting through offshore wind farms.

The crown estate is the national portfolio of historical and commercial land-holding, belonging to the British monarch, and is the King’s official annual income.

However, the monarch doesn’t keep all this money. Instead, the King receives 12 percent of it, known as the Sovereign Grant. This is funded by the taxpayer in exchange for the King’s surrender of the revenue from the crown estate.