Coronation gives Royal Collection Trust its best year ever for income

By Hannah Furness

The Coronation has given the Royal Collection Trust its best year ever for income.

The trust reported its highest level of income on record at £84.3 million (approximately $165m AUD), about £10 million ($20m AUD) more than the previous high.

The windfall has been ascribed to the Coronation, which had a "significant impact" on visitors numbers and led to a high demand for souvenirs.

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The trust is a charity responsible for caring for the Royal Collection and visitors to the royal palaces.

The number of visitors increased dramatically, with renewed interest in the Royal Mews thanks to the carriages used in the Coronation, as well as the royal residences.

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Admissions to Windsor Castle, where Elizabeth II was laid to rest, accounted for £28.5 million (approximately $55m AUD) of that income, easily outstripping those in London, which added another £20.2 million (approximately $39m AUD).

Tours of Buckingham Palace have been put on throughout the year, with 530,000 visitors compared with 304,000 in the last financial year.

Across all sites – Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, the Royal Mews, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, and the King's Galleries in London and Scotland – there were 2,753,000 paying guests.

The numbers have not yet reached those in the pre-pandemic year of 2019-20, when 3,285,000 visitors were recorded, but total income is higher.

The previous record is from 2018-19 at £72.1 million (approximately $141m AUD). Last year, 2022-23, saw £61.8m (approximately $119m AUD) in income with records dating back to the foundation of the Royal Collection Trust in 1993.

The funds were boosted by souvenir ranges celebrating the Coronation and commemorating the late Elizabeth II.

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The income is spent on visitor access, retail, exhibitions, ongoing conservation of artworks and outreach programmes, including travel subsidies for schools, which would otherwise be unable to bring pupils to London.

Writing in the annual report, Tim Knox, director of the Royal Collection, said: "It was a truly historic year for Royal Collection Trust, as we played our part in the Coronation of Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla.

"The Coronation served as a powerful reminder of the unique, living nature of the Collection we care for, with historic objects performing the function for which they were made centuries ago.

"The Coronation had a significant impact on our visitor numbers, as we saw a heightened public interest in visiting the royal residences and high demand for our retail ranges.

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"Visitor numbers were also strengthened by two highly acclaimed exhibitions at The Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace: Style & Society: Dressing the Georgians, and Holbein at the Tudor Court.

"These successes contributed to a record level of income this year, firmly securing our ongoing financial recovery following the pandemic."

© Telegraph Media Group Limited 2024

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