King Charles III (77) has broken with a centuries-old tradition by disclosing his personal tax payments. The information is part of new financial records that the British royal household has published and which, according to its own account, are intended to provide greater transparency. Particularly eye-catching are the expenses for the royal family's travels - from smaller trips to major overseas visits.
Millions for Helicopters, Jets and the Railway
For trips and flights that each cost less than 20,000 pounds (approximately 23,200 euros), the royal household spent a combined total of around 3.85 million euros. This includes 177 helicopter flights for approximately 850,000 euros, 60 charter flights for around 972,000 euros, additional scheduled flights for approximately 255,000 euros, as well as train journeys for around 99,000 euros.
The more expensive individual trips up to the cut-off date of March 31, 2026 are listed separately. The most costly was Prince William's (44) three-day visit to Saudi Arabia in February at around 151,000 euros - including a planning trip by staff. Just behind that is the royal couple's trip to Italy in early April 2025 - the trip reportedly cost approximately 147,000 euros.
A single journey on the royal train to Lancaster in June 2025 also came to approximately 56,000 euros. Even the king's commuting between his residences can cost up to 28,000 euros.
Heir to the Throne William Also Opens the Books
Independent of the travel costs, the records also show the monarch's personal tax payments. According to the documents, these amounted to around 15 million euros for the tax year 2024/25, making King Charles one of the 100 largest taxpayers in the country. The previous year it was approximately 13.6 million euros. Since his accession to the throne in 2022, Charles has paid a total of more than 34.8 million euros in taxes according to the records.
For the first time, heir to the throne Prince William also disclosed his tax data. According to the documents, the Prince of Wales paid around 9 million in income and capital gains tax in the tax year 2024/25; the previous year it was approximately 9.67 million euros.
