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To: Darren Jones and the Treasury, members of Parliament
Reform Royal Finances – Scrap the Sovereign Grant
We, the undersigned, call for urgent reform of the way the British royal family is funded.
The current Sovereign Grant mechanism — which allocates taxpayer money to the monarch based on a percentage of profits from the publicly-owned Crown Estate — is outdated, opaque, and overly generous.
The current Sovereign Grant mechanism — which allocates taxpayer money to the monarch based on a percentage of profits from the publicly-owned Crown Estate — is outdated, opaque, and overly generous.
With the upcoming Sovereign Grant Review in 2026 (SGR26), Parliament has a rare opportunity to deliver long-overdue reform and ensure the Head of State is funded in a fair, transparent, and accountable way.
We demand:
- Scrap the Sovereign Grant mechanism entirely.
- Bring the Crown Estate fully under public ownership as the National Estate, along with the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall.
- End the practice of diverting Duchy profits to the monarch or heir.
- Pay the Head of State a salary pegged to the Prime Minister’s, with a budget for a small official office.
- Fund only two official residences (one in London, one in the country) for the Head of State.
- End taxpayer funding for other members of the royal family.
This would bring royal finances in line with modern democratic principles, ensure better value for taxpayers, and end excessive public spending on the monarchy.
We call on MPs to:
- Support these reforms during the 2026 Sovereign Grant Review.
- Press the Treasury for transparent Terms of Reference and public consultation on the review.
- Commit to legislative reform by 2027.
It’s time for an accountable, affordable, and modern system for funding the Head of State.
Sign this petition to tell your MP: put fairness and transparency above privilege.
Why is this important?
The ceremonial head of state in Ireland and other European countries have their salaries pegged to that of the Prime Minister whereas the Sovereign Grant is extremely bloated.
It is important for MPs and the public to know that the Crown Estate does NOT belong to the royal family, it belongs to the British people.
Please adapt and send the following letter to your MP (whether you think they are pro-republic or not):
Dear [name of MP]
I am writing as your constituent, to seek your support with reform of royal finances – specifically in the context of the upcoming Review of the Sovereign Grant next year.
As you will know, the Sovereign Grant Act 2011 currently ensures an annual amount is paid to the monarch for performing duties as Head of State. The amount payable by the Treasury each year is derived from a formula which uses a percentage of the profits from the publicly-owned Crown Estate as the basis for calculation.
As you may also know, the Sovereign Grant formula is due for review on/after 5 April 2026 (“SGR26”). A recent House of Commons Library Report on Royal Finances contained some proposals for reform of royal finances more widely. The 2024 Royal Finances Report by Republic, entitled “Half a billion pound royals” updated these proposals, and listed a comprehensive suite of reforms of royal finances. .
The SGR26 represents a unique opportunity to explore royal finances in the round, and to reform the way in which taxpayers contribute to the very large public sums still paid to the royal family every year, at a time of real pressure on public finances. The SGR26 process is especially important because royal finances were not specifically included in the Spending Round/Review begun by the Chancellor in last October’s budget – there is no published material on whether the Royal Household is under any obligation to report in the Spending Round.
So the specific reason for writing now, well in advance of the SGR26 starting, is to ask for your support with a number of important preparatory steps. It is essential that the opportunity presented by SGR26 to reform royal finances, and to ensure best possible value for money for taxpayers from public support to the Head of State, is not squandered by MPs.
Accordingly, as an initial step in this process, I should be grateful if you would please write to Darren Jones as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and the Cabinet Minister responsible for all public finances, including public payments to the royal family, to ask:
• when will the Terms of Reference for SGR26 be prepared? what will the process be for preparing them? and, specifically, what input will MPs have to the preparation of the ToRs for SGR26?
• when will the current Treasury Guidance on the Sovereign Grant Act be updated to remove elements that the recent House of Commons Library Report described as “not strictly correct” – as a minimum, the Treasury Guidance should be revised to make clear that Sovereign Grant payments do not in fact come from a percentage of Crown Estate profits, but are paid directly from the Treasury, using taxpayers’ money.
• what will the timetable be for bringing forward legislation for reform of the Sovereign Grant, required after reservicing of Buckingham Palace by 5 April 2027.
I realise that nothing to do with royal finances is straightforward, and I will welcome chance to discuss these requests with you in person – I should be grateful if your team would identify a suitable appointment for me in one of your upcoming constituency surgeries for this purpose.
With many thanks, and looking forward to hearing from you.
Best regards [signed]
It is important for MPs and the public to know that the Crown Estate does NOT belong to the royal family, it belongs to the British people.
Please adapt and send the following letter to your MP (whether you think they are pro-republic or not):
Dear [name of MP]
I am writing as your constituent, to seek your support with reform of royal finances – specifically in the context of the upcoming Review of the Sovereign Grant next year.
As you will know, the Sovereign Grant Act 2011 currently ensures an annual amount is paid to the monarch for performing duties as Head of State. The amount payable by the Treasury each year is derived from a formula which uses a percentage of the profits from the publicly-owned Crown Estate as the basis for calculation.
As you may also know, the Sovereign Grant formula is due for review on/after 5 April 2026 (“SGR26”). A recent House of Commons Library Report on Royal Finances contained some proposals for reform of royal finances more widely. The 2024 Royal Finances Report by Republic, entitled “Half a billion pound royals” updated these proposals, and listed a comprehensive suite of reforms of royal finances. .
The SGR26 represents a unique opportunity to explore royal finances in the round, and to reform the way in which taxpayers contribute to the very large public sums still paid to the royal family every year, at a time of real pressure on public finances. The SGR26 process is especially important because royal finances were not specifically included in the Spending Round/Review begun by the Chancellor in last October’s budget – there is no published material on whether the Royal Household is under any obligation to report in the Spending Round.
So the specific reason for writing now, well in advance of the SGR26 starting, is to ask for your support with a number of important preparatory steps. It is essential that the opportunity presented by SGR26 to reform royal finances, and to ensure best possible value for money for taxpayers from public support to the Head of State, is not squandered by MPs.
Accordingly, as an initial step in this process, I should be grateful if you would please write to Darren Jones as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and the Cabinet Minister responsible for all public finances, including public payments to the royal family, to ask:
• when will the Terms of Reference for SGR26 be prepared? what will the process be for preparing them? and, specifically, what input will MPs have to the preparation of the ToRs for SGR26?
• when will the current Treasury Guidance on the Sovereign Grant Act be updated to remove elements that the recent House of Commons Library Report described as “not strictly correct” – as a minimum, the Treasury Guidance should be revised to make clear that Sovereign Grant payments do not in fact come from a percentage of Crown Estate profits, but are paid directly from the Treasury, using taxpayers’ money.
• what will the timetable be for bringing forward legislation for reform of the Sovereign Grant, required after reservicing of Buckingham Palace by 5 April 2027.
I realise that nothing to do with royal finances is straightforward, and I will welcome chance to discuss these requests with you in person – I should be grateful if your team would identify a suitable appointment for me in one of your upcoming constituency surgeries for this purpose.
With many thanks, and looking forward to hearing from you.
Best regards [signed]
