Why King Charles’ history-making decision to release tax records is a major step forward for monarchy

When King Charles made history yesterday (AEST) by revealing private details about how much personal tax he pays, it marked a giant leap forward for an institution once firmly entrenched in the past.

The King’s decision, first announced earlier this week by Buckingham Palace, shows the monarch is serious about modernising the monarchy and making it more transparent. But while it was revealed that the King believed it was simply “the right thing to do”, the real reason is not that simple.

Buckingham Palace announced earlier this week that King Charles would become the first British monarch in the country’s modern history to disclose how much personal tax he pays.

The palace said he had made the decision on his own to “encourage wider understanding of our accountability”.

“To put it simply, we continue to modernise and evolve,” a spokesman said, adding it was intended that moving forward, the monarch’s tax information would be published annually.

Just hours before the King’s tax information was released for the first time yesterday (AEST) along with that of his son, Prince William, The Telegraph shed more light on the decision.

Asked why the King had decided to expand the palace’s annual financial briefing to include his own personal taxes, an aide said, “He felt it was the right thing to do”.

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The Telegraph also quoted a palace source who said it was the King’s “clear wish and instruction” that royal finances were made more transparent, and called it a “very significant leap forward”.

Speaking about the new royal household report, a Buckingham Palace spokesman said, “Our aim is to explain all elements of royal finances in a way that further enhances clarity and accessibility, while also placing it in its historical and constitutional context.

So what did his taxes show?

The monarch paid $57.3 million in the two full tax years since becoming King, Buckingham Palace confirmed on Friday. Of that, $22.9 million was paid in the 2024-25 tax year alone.

According to the BBC, that put the King in the Top 100 taxpayers in the UK.

Also released today was the income tax paid by King Charles’ eldest son and heir, Prince William.

The Prince of Wales paid $38 million in tax over the three years, of which $15 million was paid in the past year alone.

Neither the King of Prince of Wales’ incomes were released by the palace, however, an analysis of the UK tax system by nine.com.au shows the King’s $22.9 million tax bill means he earned an estimated gross income of £28.66 million, or almost AU$55 million.

Meanwhile, if Prince William paid £7.6 million tax last financial year, that equates to a gross income of £22.9 million, or AU$44 million.

Much of William’s income is derived from the Duchy of Cornwall estate he has managed since 2022.

While there was no mention of total wealth, King Charles’ personal net worth is believed to be about $1.2 billion, according to The Sunday Times Rich List.

It consists mainly of his private investment portfolio, art and jewellery collections and personally owned royal properties he inherited from his mother, including Sandringham and Balmoral.

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His income is derived in a number of ways.

King Charles earns money from the government-funded Sovereign Grant.

This is paid each year in a lump sum to cover the monarch’s official expenses, and while is it paid by the British taxpayer, it is calculated as a percentage of the profits from the vast Crown Estate land holdings, which are effectively owned by the monarch.

The King’s other income is generated by the Duchy of Lancaster, a vast, privately owned land and real estate portfolio managed exclusively for the reigning monarch, much like the Duchy of Cornwall supplies the income for the Prince and Princess of Wales.

The Duchy of Lancaster spans 450 hectares and includes commercial real estate, agricultural land and residential properties in England and Wales, and generates millions of dollars in profits annually that King Charles then receives as a private income.

The BBC reported the King received an income of $48 million from the Duchy in the 2025-26 financial year alone.

He also receives an income from profitable commercial enterprises such as farming, tourism and real estate rentals linked to Sandringham and Balmoral estates, as well as from his investments and inheritance.

While his total earnings have never been publicly revealed before, the King is said to voluntarily pay the highest rate of income tax.

Paying taxes is nothing new for King Charles, although this was not always the case for the monarchy.

Monarchs did not pay taxes until 1993 due to an exemption.

It is thought King Charles, then the Prince of Wales, was instrumental in convincing his mother, Queen Elizabeth, to overturn an exemption on monarch’s paying tax following a public backlash over the cost of repairs to Windsor Castle following a fire.

The late Queen and then-Prince of Wales initiated a non-statutory Memorandum of Understanding with the Treasury to voluntarily pay taxes on her private fortune and the Duchy of Lancaster revenues.

The Queen continued to pay taxes until her death, but never publicly disclosed her total earnings or tax bill, which is what makes today’s release of information so historic.

So why now?

For starters, the King and Prince of Wales were likely bracing for renewed criticism of the cost of the royal family to taxpayers, via the Sovereign Grant, which funds the monarchy and royal households.

The accounts released this week also showed the Sovereign Grant would rise to about £100 million, or AU$190 million, during the 2027-28 financial year. That is almost double the previous year.

The timing of this historic transparency is also no accident for other reasons.

King Charles’ eldest son and heir Prince William, is likely instrumental in the decision.

He, too, declared his personal income tax this week, and is thought to be one of the biggest motivators for the change.

He has been one of the most vocal proponents for change in the monarchy, and taking a more modern approach.

There is likely another reason for the sudden change of heart.

Once clouded in mystery, the financial arrangement of the royal family took a battering when it was revealed King Charles’ brother, Andrew-Mountbatten-Windsor, had not paid more than a peppercorn rent on his former home, Royal Lodge in Windsor, for two decades.

It was also revealed earlier this month that he was making money from renting out smaller cottages on the Crown Estate owned property, according to the first major review of royal property leases in two decades by Britain’s National Audit Office (NAO).

It examined how members of the royal family use Crown Estate and royal household properties ahead of a parliamentary inquiry into royal property arrangements that will be held later this year.

Questions around how the former Prince Andrew, his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson and even their daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, had funded their extravagant lifestyles over the past two decades had also been asked.

There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing.

However, Prince William reportedly asked both Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie to allow their personal finances and investments to undergo an “ethics check”, but they refused.

Eugenie has since stepped down as patron of an anti-slavery charity after seven years.

According to the BBC, Eugenie’s departure from Anti-Slavery International comes after the Charity Commission confirmed it was “assessing concerns” about a separate charity, The Anti-Slavery Collective, which the princess co-founded in 2017.

With questions swirling around the Princesses’ continued use of royal residences, despite not being working members of the royal family, and their father’s legal woes, it is little wonder that King Charles and Prince William decided transparency was needed more than ever.

Time will tell if it is enough to save the royal family.