Royal finances: How much money does the Royal Family bring in to the UK?

ROYAL accounts were published on Tuesday morning, reigniting debates over whether the Royal Family is ‘worth it’ for the British taxpayer. So how much do they bring in?

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Trooping the Colour: Prince Louis waves from the balcony

The most shocking revelation in the released of the 2018/19 Sovereign Grant statements was the extent of private refurbishments.

In particular, the cost of the renovation of the new home of and , the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, which cost the taxpayer £2.4 million.

This money comes from the public via taxes and levies paid on land owned by the monarchy, called the Crown Estate, which is paid to the Government which then pays a portion back to the royals.

You can read more about how the royal finances work , but below is a look at the argument sometimes made that the brings in more money for the UK than they spend.

READ MORE: Prince Charles and his Camilla took part in the most expensive royal foreign trip last year - costing the taxpayer more than £415,000.

According to VisitBritain, tourism in the UK linked to royal residences such as Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle adds up to 2.7 million visitors a year.

Another statistic from consultancy Brand Finance said that in 2017 the monarchy contributed £1.8 billion to the UK economy.

The report said around £550 million of that total came from tourism.

However, the validity of this and the exact figure of financial contribution from the monarchy is very hard to prove.

Royal finances

Royal finances: Is the Royal Family ‘worth it’ for the British taxpayer? (Image: Getty)

Fact-checking site Full Fact reported: “This estimate is largely subjective depending on what factors you think should or shouldn’t be included.”

So, do you include contributions toward the media industry from popular films and TV shows about the monarchy?

And even once you decide where the parameters lie, it’s still difficult to put an exact number on the contributions specifically manifesting from the work done by the royals each year.

But even if the £1.8bn figure is correct, it’s actually minor in comparison to the £22.5bn tourists are said to have spent in the UK in 2017/18, so it’s not a majorly significant percentage.

Royal finances

Royal finances: The public can visit the chapel where Meghan and Harry were married (Image: Getty)

Royal finances

Royal finances: The interior of Buckingham Palace, ope to the public on certain days of the year (Image: Getty)

What would happen to the UK’s economy if the monarchy was no longer part of the UK?

Would tourists be less likely to visit the UK’s historic places if they were no longer lived in?

Would the monarchy be less of a draw without the work of the Queen and the younger royals?

Or is the star power for royals like Meghan Markle coupled with historic buildings enough to draw visitors anyway?


Royal finances

Royal finances: What would happen to the UK’s economy if the monarchy was no longer part of the UK? (Image: Getty)

Royalists might argue that the monarchy brings political stability to the UK, which has a high value to the economy.

But, again, this is difficult to put a price on, particularly without evidence that the UK would become anything other than a stable republic like France or Germany.

In the end, the question of whether the Royal Family is worth it, or not, is probably less a financial question than a political, moral and aesthetic one.

These questions have no clear answer. You can have your say by voting in our poll on royal funding .