THE monarchy is to receive a boost of more than £45 million, with a 53 per cent jump in its official annual income to more than £130m, officials revealed today.

Soaring profits from the Crown Estate to £1.1 billion means the taxpayer-funded Sovereign Grant, which supports the official duties of the royal family, will increase from £86.3m in 2024-25 to £132m in 2025-26.

Officials said the increase will help fund the final stages of the 10-year £369m renovation of Buckingham Palace, keeping it on time and budget.

The boost will be reviewed through legislation in 2026-27 to keep funding of the royal family at a “more appropriate” level, a palace spokesman said.

The Sovereign Grant report revealed that the royal household will receive two new helicopters in 2024-25 to replace the existing 15-year-old ones.

Graham Smith of Republic, which campaigns for an elected head of state, said: “People rightly complain about the cost of the Rwanda scheme, yet we have spent more over the same period on the royals.

“Every year the official funding for the royals just keeps going up. Yet the Sovereign Grant is just a small part of the estimated £345m or more the British people spend on the royals every year.

“Add the profits of the two duchies, which are state assets, the bloated security bill and costs met by local councils around the country and the total bill is huge.

“By comparison, the Irish president costs around four million euros, a fraction of the cost for someone doing a similar job, but someone elected and accountable to do it.”

During the period of royal finances — from April 1 2023 to March 31 2024 — official travel costs for the monarchy rose marginally by £0.3 million from £3.9m to £4.2m.

The most expensive travel was the King and Queen’s visit to Kenya by charter flight in October, along with the related separate staff planning visit by scheduled flights, which came to a total of £166,557.

Housekeeping and hospitality came in at £2.6m, up from £2.4m last year.

The report also showed £600,000 from the Sovereign Grant was spent on the coronation and events surrounding it last year, with the total cost to the Sovereign Grant overall coming to £800,000.