See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy AMANDA PLATELL, DAILY MAIL COLUMNIST Published: 17:01 BST, 26 June 2026 | Updated: 17:08 BST, 26 June 2026
Although I am a loyal monarchist and lifelong royal watcher, I’m afraid I just do not buy the line that the royals have come clean about their finances.Amid the plethora of headlines about their decision that they will ‘never return to Buckingham Palace’, we were also told that ‘History is made as Charles and William reveal their tax bills’, that ‘The King offers transparency over his tax status’ and that he’s ‘opened up the books’.On and on it went, front page after front page about how the King and William wanted to be honest with the people.But was this really a historic, seismic development or a sophisticated PR operation from Buckingham Palace that continued to draw the wool over an uncomfortable truth – that the royal finances are shrouded in obfuscation and the details remain mostly under wraps?True, no monarch has ever revealed their personal tax bill. So jolly good, God Save the King etc. for telling us that he paid £12.9million in 2024-25.But the disclosure only raises more questions than answers. And I smell a rat.The income on which the King owes tax hasn’t been declared. We don’t know about earnings from the financial and property investments of his private estate. We’ve no idea how much he deducted from his Duchy of Lancaster income of around £25million for official expenses.King Charles is personally said to be worth around £680million – although throw in his ownership of the 45,000-acres Duchy of Lancaster and his vast collection of royal treasures, and some estimates put his net worth at nearer £2billion. The income on which the King owes tax hasn’t been declared. We don’t know about earnings from the financial and property investments of his private estate, writes Amanda Platell Harry Styles paid £24.7million in tax, around twice what Charles did. And yet the singer is worth some £235million, less than half the King’s personal wealthAnd when we learn about how much other rich folk pay, things got murkier still.The singer Harry Styles, for instance, paid £24.7million in tax, around twice what the King did. And yet the pop superstar’s worth some £235million, less than half the King’s personal wealth.Good on Harry! But why is King Charles paying so much less than him? Why such a paltry tax on his immense wealth when a pop star pays twice what he does. Sorry, but none of it adds up.And funny that the massive media blitz about Charles paying his taxes – which was orchestrated by the Palace – came at a time when support for the monarchy is dwindling. Not just because of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and his corrosive effect on the institution but also because of the growing realisation and anger – especially among Gen Z youngsters – about the privileges members of the Royal Family appear to enjoy at taxpayers’ expense.Frankly it was a laugh out loud moment for the King to try to get down and gritty with his subjects to show he, like us, pays his due.As for leaving Buckingham Palace, why should King Charles and Queen Camilla or Prince William and Princess Catherine worry – even though the public forked out £370million for its refurb?They’ve got plenty of other options for living arrangements. Crikey, between them, William and Charles own or hold in trust a property portfolio comprising at least seven palaces, ten castles, 12 mansions, and 56 cottages and valued at an estimated £19 billion.The truth is that the Royal Family is still living a hugely privileged lifestyle with unimaginable wealth, not all of which we are told about.And however much Buckingham Palace tries to dress it up with the King’s apparent tax details, that is becoming increasingly difficult to justify when so many ordinary taxpayers are struggling to get by.
