MPs to vote on proposed £50 million increase to royal budgets

[OneBusyFinch]

MPs are going to vote on whether to increase royal budgets by £50 million. If you agree they should not be increased, please use this template to generate an email to your MP - the firm will find your MP if you enter your postcode

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www.republic.org.uk/write_to_your_mp_sovereign_grant?utm_campaign=tell_your_mp_vote_against_the&utm_medium=email&utm_source=republic

If labour MPs vote for this they might want to start lining up new jobs.

If the Royal PR machine has any idea of 'reading the room' the Royal Family should decline the increase. They should also remember they are only royal by consent, its also possible to vote to not have a RF. A wage increase of this magnitude won't go down well with a lot of people, and I don't care what the money is actually for, it will be seen as wage rise.

It’s to repair Buckingham palace. It’s not for funsies.

Which they have also said they no longer intend to live in, leaving it available as a huge revenue generator from tourism.

Surely this will pay itself back in no time?

I don't think people will care what its for. Everyone is feeling the pinch, and the Royals get given 50 mil to fix their roof. Well lots of people would like the state to pay for vital home improvements, but ordinary people, save up, sell something or get a loan.

But it will remain the property of the crown. If the public are to pay extra for its repair, then it should be gifted to the public. The National Trust could run it on behalf of the nation.

The RF is dripping in private wealth and lives extremely privileged lifestyles by an accident of birth. They should feel the squeeze of our country’s financial predicament as much if not more than the general public, as they can afford to cut back more than the rest of us. William only managed 57 public engagements in the first half of 2026 so he’s not as hard working as his parents. Why should he and his entire family get a free pass to live in absolute luxury? It’s totally unfair.

It's Crown Estate. It belongs to us.
The income from Crown Estate goes mostly to the treasury.

Utterly obscene!

Personally I would strip the RF of most of their wealth and have a Scandi style monarchy if we are going to have one at all. None of the other European monarchies who have a constitutional head of state have a coronation. Look at the money wasted on that.

The King of Norway died recently and apparently he had a 70% approval rating. I was watching the simple swearing in where his son took the oath in front of the parliament. Why cannot we have something like that? How many castles and palaces do the royals need.

Do you know how much a State coronation is worth in tourism and retail revenue to this country?

£337 million that weekend plus another £300 million in memorabilia.

The coronation was a great investment and a lot of people had a great time celebrating it.

You don't have to want it to happen yourself but to not want it to happen on the ground it costs so much doesn't make economic sense.

To the Republicans on this thread, a question.

If you don't want the King to meet and greet heads of state like Trump, who do you want? Tony Blair as President?

No, the coronation was a net loss to the taxpayer .

The coronation bank holiday meant that productivity shrank that month. Spending in bars ( the figure you quote) does not result in much of a gain to the treasury .
The overall picture is a net loss to the taxpayer

We are forking out over 350 million annually for this useless bunch ? William does next to nothing and little he claims to do has been shown to be utterly ineffective. How bloody dare they ask for more .-they don’t even pay the tax the rest of us must pay!

This is incorrect

Buckingham palace is not part of the crown estate.
All proceeds go to Charles.
All costs and upkeep paid for by us .

If he renounces his claim on BH then the state may start to slowly see a return on the billions they have spent on BH

But that has not happened and may never happen .

There no figures available for the loss of productivity and much of it will have been caught back up. People spending money in businesses results in tax income from VAT and income tax and NI from the employees and corporation tax from the business profits. 20% vat on £600+m additional sales alone is £120 million tax which is approaching double what the coronation cost.

How much do you think it would cost to run a presidency and who do you think should become President? They have an essential political function and arguably that function simply can't be done as well by anyone else.

Do you really want a Blair figure as President?

I didn't say it was Crown Estate. It is owned "in the right of the Crown".

The King cannot "sell it, gift it or profit from its commercial use".

That money comes to the treasury and reduces your tax bill.

@Imdunfer

Arguably ?
The Windsors are up to their necks in coverups for pedophiles and sex offenders .
The next person you pass in the street is likely to be more upstanding .

Political function ? The only political function they perform is to look out for their own interests - exclude themselves from laws they don’t want to follow -then pass it on to us in entirety .

The red boxes are a pantomime - an arm of PR
In other countries the same function is a rubber stamp by a civil servant .

A president would cost a fraction, be removed if unsuitable and the ‘history’ would still be there and accessible to all .

What did you know about Epstein , William and Charles and when did you know it ?

I'll ask you again.

By whom, and how, do you propose to replace their function of schmoozing foreign leaders both in this country and abroad?

@Imdunfer

No - re Buckingham palace - it is not part of the crown estate in the usual sense
Look at the detail - some palaces are outside the crown estate and claimed by Charles as a residence and the rules are - of course!- different and benefit the Windsors not us.

They are callled ‘occupied royal palaces’ and the proceeds do not go to the treasury .
Buckingham palace is one of them.

BTW the crown estate and in right of the crown is the same thing. It belongs to us . When the Windsors go - and they will- it will ALL go to the treasury and no skimming off the top for the Windsors

@Imdunfer

Let’s clean up the Windsor rip off first shall we?
There a great deal of reform needed. It is happening but slowly :

No more swearing to the king in parliament/ police etc.
No more being above the law for the Windsors
Put the Duchys under the crown estate as they should be .

We are not a full democracy but would become one once Windsors go.
I have seen the suggestion that the first figurehead president be a Windsor - I doubt they’d do it . Nothing in it for them .

We are not a full democracy

That is nonsense, the Monarchy is entirely symbolic.

If they attempted to use any of their inherited powers we'd be a republic before you could blink.

Who and how do you think should take on their ambassadorial role?

What do you think our US tariffs would be now if Trump didn't love the monarchy?

figurehead president

They aren't figureheads, they have a really important role representing the country with world leaders who come here and when they visit other countries.

You would replace that with an elected politician. I think that would be a mistake.

Who said a politician would be elected president ?

The point about a figurehead president is that they can come from all walks of life .

We would not have an executive president so the ‘but Trump ! Putin!’ argument is void .

The Uk is not a full democracy for various reasons ( no PR voting is one of them ) but having an unelected inherited head of state does not help . Nil points there .

Oh sure, the guy who collects your bins could be president.

Anyone who can get together the funds and/or influence to fight for that role is going to be a very political animal.