As Rachel Reeves struggles to balance the books, the Royal Family should forgo a £46 million increase in their funding. AIBU?

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Due to an increase in Crown Estate profits, the government is set to increase its grant to the Royal Family from £ 86.3 million to £132.1 million.
As the Royal Family appear to be getting by at present on an £86.3 million grant, AIBU to say that they should share in the pain of the national squeeze on finances?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwy5lzq94gqo.amp

It would be a positive optic for an unpopular government. No one should argue the Royals need that huge increase.

I agree and would suggest that the £46million is split so each member of the public gets an equal share tax-free, so about a half million each.

I like the RF but in the current climate and public feeling no they shouldn’t be getting that. I know it’s small money to them but when the rest of us are facing higher taxes, higher train fares and food it’s a seemingly unjustified

What other countries do with their royals is up to them. On our institutions, I have a view.

You don't have to get rid of them to cut the cost of things that aren't necessary to the monarchy. Other countries with monarchies manage to do it without all the excess.

They aren’t even very British. They are the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha family, but they decided to change their name to Windsor in an attempt to seem more British.
I personally am not fussed about that, but it counters the narrative that they represent something fundamentally British.
Even if they were strongly British in their heritage, I would still argue that they don’t need to siphon so much money from the public teat. In the absence of a republic, I’d like to see a salary paid to the monarch alone, commensurate with that received by the Prime Minister.

Exactly. The apologists are conditioned to say “it’s only £x per household”. But why should all that extra money go to a family who live in immense luxury, who have vast private wealth, and who already receive huge taxpayer support.

The wealth inequality that this country was built on is alive and kicking in 2025.

£46m increase for the biggest grifters, meanwhile around 4.5 million children in the UK live in poverty. That's one third of all children.

Astounding really.

£46m is approximately 8 hours' worth of NHS spending, just to put it in context.

It should be 0 until the books are balanced.

£46 million could fund construction of a school, with several million left over. It could also fund a small hospital.
It could fund plenty of things which would bring benefit to communities.

It's a lot or it's nothing depending on the context

There's not much else left that hasn't already been rinsed. Royal asset stripping must be approaching. If only it could be for the common good ✊🙏

Or pay for new hospital beds for a year in a larger hospital. The list is endless. So many things could benefit from £46m.

Rachel should consider charging 90% tax on disbursements from Crown profits to the RF.

They can claim a full refund when they open their books and show their wills.

Hard agree. Well said.

Exactly.

Yes, imagine the good that could be done over many years if the royals were to live within their means. Other European royal families are far less flashy and costly.

Disgusting. The country’s broke and we’re handing out an extra £46m to those scroungers!!

😂

How convenient!

Yes, and to prove it....

(Royalists hate me putting up this. I get a lot of negative comments about it)

Very true. Those politicians like Sir Keir Starmer who are already ennobled have a vested interest in the status quo. Those who are yet to be ennobled are looking ahead to their possible seat in the House of Lords, and are not willing or able to show leadership on this issue.

Wow! Says it all so concisely.

I haven’t read the full threadbut not this again.
The Windsors DO NOT own the crown estate - we do.
100% if the profits went to the treasury before Elizabeth finally got her way via Osborne and Cameron and had her funding changed from the civil list ( which was debated ) to the Sovereign Grant - the fat % they take today. Elizabeth also had a little proviso that the debate linked to the Civil list also be scrapped. Handy for the increasingly unpopular Windsors now but not so much for democracy.

It’s an absolute disgrace that the Windsors take as many millions as they do annually -never mind getting their arm in for an increase. This is not their money.
Time for a cut - or a tax increase like the rest of us

And 86% agree with you OP . I hope someone in government sees this . An easy win for them. It would be extremely popular