The British Royal Family - Statistics & Facts

After reigning for more than 70 years, Queen Elizabeth II passed away on September 8, 2022 at the age of 96. The Queen was the longest-reigning monarch in British history having recently celebrated her Platinum Jubilee in the summer of 2022. King Charles III became the British monarch immediately after his mother's death, with his coronation taking place on May 6, 2023.

The King's reign so far

Charles III became King at the age of 73 and is the oldest British monarch to be crowned in history. Two years into his reign, Charles has already seen two Prime Ministers come and go, following the resignation of Liz Truss in October 2022, and the defeat of her successor Rishi Sunak in the 2024 general election. Just a few months before this election, the King was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer, and briefly withdrew from Royal Duties while receiving treatment. The King's daughter-in-law, the Princess of Wales, was also diagnosed with cancer around this time, and underwent chemotherapy treatment that she completed in September 2024.

An eventful reign comes to an end

Throughout her reign, the Queen witnessed a vast array of changes to the United Kingdom's global position, largely due to the collapse of the British Empire after World War Two. The Queen also saw the rise and fall of 15 different British Prime Ministers, from Winston Churchill, born in 1874, to Liz Truss born over a hundred years later in 1975, as well as 13 U.S. presidents. As of 2022, the Queen was by far the most-popular member of the Royal Family, with 81 percent of people in Great Britain having a positive impression of her. Although not universally supported by the British public, recent surveys suggest that a majority of people in Great Britain wanted to keep the monarchy, rather than have an elected head of state.

Royal Controversies

The Royal Family are no strangers to controversy and the mixed fortunes of the Royals in recent years have been well-documented. In Oprah Winfrey's March 2021 interview with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan described experiences of racism and how their treatment by the British media damaged their mental health, leading to their move to the United States in early 2020. These revelations have further damaged the standing of the Royal Family, still reeling from recent sexual abuse allegations made against the late Queen's son Prince Andrew. A survey conducted just after the Harry and Meghan interview, however, highlighted the split in public opinion regarding the matter, with 36 percent of British people feeling more sympathy for the Queen and Royal Family than they did for the Sussexes, who had 22 percent of people feeling sympathetic to them.

How is the Royal Family funded?

According to the most recent financial accounts, the Royal Family costs approximately 89.1 million pounds a year, with that figure increasing by almost 20 million pounds between 2017/18 and 2018/19. These expenses are covered by a variety of different income sources, although the main one by far is the Sovereign Grant, the annual payment from the UK government to the monarchy based on revenue from the crown estates. Another important source of funding for the monarch is the income from their private estate; the Duchy of Lancaster, while for the Prince of Wales, an income is provided by revenue from the Duchy of Cornwall.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by D. Clark, Sep 13, 2024

Key insights

Share of British who support keeping the monarchy
65%
Expenditure of the Royal Family
107.5m GBP
Most popular member of the Royal Family
Prince William
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Current statistics on this topic

Value of the Sovereign Grant in the United Kingdom from 2011/12 to 2026/27 (in million GBP)

Government Finances

Value of the Sovereign Grant in the UK 2011-2024

Estimated annual number of official engagements undertaken by members of the British Royal Family from 2014/15 to 2022/23

Celebrities

Number of official engagements of the British Royal Family 2014-2023

Length of each English and British monarch's reign from 827 to 2023 in years

Historical Data

Length of reign of British monarchs 827-2023

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