Royal author claims true cost of monarchy hidden

A royal author claims the true cost of the British royals was deliberately hidden from the public.

David McClure, author of The Queen's True Wealth, says the monarchy's cost was ten times more than had been reported and a change to how the family was funded, suggested by Prince Charles in 1989, threatened to reveal this cost and was warned against.

McClure explained that in 1989, toward the end of Margaret Thatcher's tenure as prime minister, a change was suggested to the funding system, which at that time was the civil list.

Prince Charles proposed that the entire profits from the Crown Estate be used to fund the monarchy, including security but a discussion concluded this would highlight the true cost of the monarchy.

McClure says a decision was made to continue to "misled" the public about the monarchy's "overall real cost".

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McClure's claims come just hours ahead of the release of the Sovereign Grant Report for the 2019-2020 financial year.

McClure is in favour of full disclosure, saying the British public deserves to know the truth so they can make a properly informed choice about the value in funding the monarchy.

"I want to be treated like a grown-up," he told Yahoo UK.

The British government supports the monarchy through the Sovereign Grant. Other means of income for the royals includes profits from the Crown Estate, lands and holdings belonging to the British royals.

Royal residences are opened to the public and generate income, although this has been severely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic that continues to wreak havoc in the UK and around the world.

Prince Charles manages the Duchy of Cornwall estate which funds the younger royals.