Britain's King Charles III salutes the troops outside Buckingham Palace during Trooping The Colour, the King's annual birthday parade, in London, Saturday, June 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Britain's King Charles III salutes the troops outside Buckingham Palace during Trooping The Colour, the King's annual birthday parade, in London, Saturday, June 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
LONDON (AP) — King Charles III is expected to become the first British monarch to reveal his personal tax bill on Thursday as he responds to demands for greater transparency in royal finances after months of embarrassing headlines about his disgraced younger brother, the former Prince Andrew.
The information will be released during Buckingham Palace’s annual briefing on the sovereign grant, the mechanism through which taxpayers fund the monarchy, British media reported over the weekend. Last year, the palace published a 159-page report on how it spent the 86.3 million pounds ($113.7 million) it received from the Treasury, including funds for a major renovation of the palace.
While Charles released the details of the tax he paid on his personal income when he was Prince of Wales, this will be the first time he has done so since ascending the throne following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in 2022. Prince William, the current Prince of Wales, is expected to follow his father’s example during a separate briefing.
The moves come as lawmakers and the public demand greater transparency about the inner workings of the monarchy following revelations about the affairs of the former Prince Andrew, who was stripped of his titles in 2025.
Now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the king’s younger brother is under investigation for misconduct in public office related to his friendship with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Mountbatten-Windsor has been forced to move out of a sprawling royal estate, for which he paid no rent.
The king seeks greater transparency
The king made a personal decision to reveal his tax payments as part of a drive to “encourage wider understanding and accountability,†the BBC reported last Saturday, citing palace sources.
Even before the Mountbatten-Windsor scandal blew up, Charles had pledged to slim down the monarchy and cut costs as he sought to ensure the 1,000-year-old institution’s survival in the face of growing questions about the role of a hereditary sovereign in a modern democracy.
The king has a personal fortune valued at 680 million pounds ($896 million), which puts him at No. 230 on the Sunday Times’ annual list of Britain’s richest people.
While the monarch is not required to pay income tax, Charles voluntarily pays tax on his private income. His mother began paying taxes in 1993 after public outrage at the cost of restoring Windsor Castle following a devastating fire the previous year. The arrangement was formalized under a memorandum of understanding between the government and the crown, which guarantees Charles the same right to privacy as any other taxpayer.
The king has several sources of income
The king is expected to release information about the taxes he pays only on his private income, most of which comes from two privately owned estates, Balmoral in Scotland and Sandringham on the east coast of England, as well as savings and investments.
Balmoral comprises more than 50,000 acres (20,000 hectares) and the king’s summer home, Balmoral Castle. Much of the grounds are open to the public, with the estate offering guided tours, afternoon tea and golf. Sandringham is the king’s 20,000-acre (8,000-hectare) country retreat on the east coast of England. The house and gardens are open to the public, with much of the land farmed either by the estate itself or tenants.
The king doesn't pay taxes on the sovereign grant or other income that is used to fund his official duties.
Prince William’s primary source of private income is the Duchy of Cornwall, a portfolio of land and investments held in trust by the Prince of Wales during his lifetime. The duchy owns about 130,000 acres (52,000 hectares) of land and reported a profit of 22.9 million pounds ($30.2 million) last year. The duchy is overseen by a board of directors and major decisions must be approved by the Treasury.
