King's Speech 2026: Sovereign Grant Bill

Sovereign Grant Bill

● The Sovereign Grant Bill will deliver the Government’s commitment to reset
the Sovereign Grant (the Grant), once the current work to reservice
Buckingham Palace comes to an end.

What does the Bill do?

● Since 1760, every Monarch has surrendered profits from The Crown Estate to
the Government. These are paid into the Consolidated Fund and then
allocated to public spending in the usual way. In return, the Sovereign
receives funding from the Government in the form of the Grant.

● The Grant provides funding in support of the Monarch’s official duties
including official visits and investitures and maintenance of the occupied royal
palaces (excluding private residences such as Sandringham House and
Balmoral Castle). The Sovereign Grant does not provide an income to the
King or any other member of the royal family.

● Current legislation prevents the Sovereign Grant falling from one year to the
next. This Bill will change that, enabling the Grant to be reduced once the
Buckingham Palace Reservicing Programme comes to an end next year.
● The Bill will set the Grant amount for 2027-28, enabling it to be lower than the
£137.9 million Grant for 2026-27. The exact amount will be determined by the
Royal Trustees’ Review, which will be published before the legislation is
introduced.
● In addition, the Bill will introduce a mechanism so that in future years, the
Grant can be reduced from one year to the next, preventing inappropriately
high funding without the need for further primary legislation.

Territorial extent and application

● The Bill will extend and apply to the whole of the UK.

Key facts

● Over the last ten years, The Crown Estate has returned more than £5 billion
to the Exchequer.

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● Without this Bill, the Sovereign Grant in 2027-28 would remain at
£137.9 million, the same level as in 2026-27, including funding that is no
longer needed once the current Buckingham Palace Reservicing Programme
ends.

● It is also likely the Grant would stay excessively high for the rest of the
decade. Existing legislation restricts the level of the Grant being reduced from
one year to the next. That reflects the view that many of the duties of the
Head of State cannot be abruptly stopped. However, it also prevents the
Grant being reduced to end the temporary uplift provided for Buckingham
Palace reservicing work.

● Under current legislation, the Grant amount can only be reduced once unused
Sovereign Grant funding (held in the Sovereign Grant Reserve) has risen
above 50 per cent of the Royal Household’s annual expenditure – even if
current levels of funding continued, this would likely take several years to be
triggered.

● In agreeing the funding for the Reservicing Programme in 2016, the previous
government recognised that legislation would be needed to reset the level of
the Grant when the works are complete.

● The Royal Household is supportive, recognising the need to reset the Grant
so that funding that is no longer required can be stripped out.

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