King Charles reveals he paid £12.9m in tax for 2024-25

The decision of the King and Queen to continue living in Clarence House, where they have been based since 2005, has been taken to allow greater public access to Buckingham Palace, officials said.

Refurbishments on the palace totaling just under £370m are set to be completed in March next year.

It is hoped it will also allow the landmark to generate more income.

It will mark the first time since Queen Victoria’s reign that a monarch has chosen to reside away from Buckingham Palace.

Historian Anna Whitelock told BBC News the King revealing his tax bill puts him “front and centre as a very rich man”.

She said the disclosure was a direct response to calls for greater accountability and financial transparency in the monarchy, particularly in recent weeks and months.

“I do think this is very much a sign of the times, and it’s an attempt by the monarchy to try and get on front foot and before they were absolutely pushed to try and show they are responsive and not reactive.”

Norman Baker, former Lib Dem Home Office minister and a critic of royal funding, told BBC News Buckingham Palace visitor ticket sales should go to the Treasury and not the Royal Family.

“They bring in millions every year, so what should happen is if they’re not living in Buckingham Palace, [they] should open it to the public and all the money from visitors 12 months of the year should go to the Treasury to help pay for refurbishment,” he said.

He added the tax payments show the source of income for both the King and Prince William are “enormous” and it needs to be explained why they are “so expensive”.

“If Charles is talking about slimming down the monarchy and William as well, we want slimmed down costs, not just fewer people on the Buckingham Palace balcony.”

It has also been revealed operating profits at the Crown Estate, which oversees the Royal Family’s property holdings and is an independently-run commercial business with profits going to the Treasury, slumped over the past year.

The Sovereign Grant is based on a percentage of the profits of the Crown Estate. The grant is not from the Crown Estate, it comes from the Treasury, but the Crown Estate is used as a benchmark.

The operating profits fell to £1.2bn in the year to March, compared with £1.4bn last year.

Figures showed the drop was primarily linked to offshore wind, as a previous boost from fees linked to offshore wind faded away, with projects now entering construction.

Earnings had spiked to record levels in the past two years thanks to option fees – payments made by companies to reserve a part of the seabed to eventually build their wind turbines on.