How Much Money Do Senior Royals Make? How Do They Get Paid?

Senior royal family members are a network of high-ranking members a monarch can rely on to carry out duties for them. Working royals are higher up in the line of ascension than non-working royals. As they work every day to assist Crown Inc., there are questions as to how they are compensated. How much money do senior royals make? How do they get paid?

Personal income and taxpayer money paid senior royals

The number of current working royals under King Charles is less than during Queen Elizabeth’s reign. This stark difference is due to a dwindling pool of senior royal family members and an aging workforce.

The working royals draw on an expense account called The Sovereign Grant, a lump sum paid by the United Kingdom’s government and taxpayers.

The Grant pays for costs associated with official duties such as staff, security, and travel. As of April 2024, the Sovereign Grant was worth $108 million.

This arrangement dates back to 1760. Then, King George III and Parliament agreed that the Crown Estate’s profits would go to the government in exchange for the government paying the royal family a salary. However, there is no recorded amount of “salary” each working royal makes.

The family is also compensated by the portfolios of land and property they own, called duchies. The Duchy of Cornwall and the Duchy of Lancaster hold land and other assets that produce income for the monarch and their eldest son.

Architectural Digest reports that the Duchy of Cornwall is estimated to be worth over a billion dollars. In 2021, it provided the royal family with an income upwards of $24 million. The Duchy of Lancaster was valued at $746 million.

What is the importance of senior royals working?

Elizabeth Holmes, who writes a newsletter about the British royal family, discussed the royal family’s patronages in an NPR interview. “It comes down to Queen Elizabeth’s idea that she needed to be ‘seen.’ A big part of their job is to be out in public,” Holmes explains.

Holmes elaborates that being a working royal is an official designation from the royal family. “The working royals right now are Charles and Camilla, William and Kate, Anne and Edward, and Edward’s wife Sophie.” the remaining royals are first cousins of Queen Elizabeth and select spouses.”

Most recently, the senior royal pool has dwindled further as King Charles and Kate Middleton focus on their health. This leaves the current pool of working royals down two of its most popular members.

Holmes says, “There is a real downside to slimming down the monarchy. However, with Charles and Catherine out of the public eye and dealing with their health crisis, there’s not quite the bench of people to pull from.”

Can the public see how hard the royal family works?

The public can see how hard the royal family works by checking a document on their official website. Thus, the Court Circular is where every official royal event is logged.

However, just how hard do royal family members actually work? It’s all subsequently reflected in the Court Circular, which logs every official royal event.

But in his autobiography Spare, Prince Harry called the court circular “a sinister document.” He called the log, “All self-reported, all subjective.”

He added that King Charles planned his and Prince William’s public engagements. Therefore, when one works more than the other, it makes it into the press. Consequentially, Harry explained, “To be publicly flogged, by how much Pa wanted us to do? That felt grossly unfair,” Harry said.

The royal family’s next major event is the King’s birthday parade. It is set to take place on June 15, 2024.