When it was announced that King Charles was going to become the first monarch in history to release details of how much income tax he paid, it seemed like a watershed moment for the royal family.
The Firm have, traditionally, been opaque when it comes to all things financial. Those who have tried to delve into precisely how much the various members are worth, whether in terms of private family money or inherited wealth, have usually come a cropper through sheer lack of evidence, something that even the official royal website sniggeringly acknowledges.
When looked at by anyone other than the most ardent admirer of the monarchy, there is something rum about these figures
Charles’s transparency appeared to be a shift away from the secrecy and obfuscation of the past towards a new, far more open future.
Well, this is not entirely what has happened. Buckingham Palace has revealed that the King paid a considerable £12.9 million in the last tax year, and that Prince William forked out £7.76 million.
