for: DANICA KIRKA, Associated Press
Aware:
Updated:
LONDON (AP) — King Charles III has called for the proceeds from a billion-a-year ($1.2 billion) Crown Estate wind farm deal to be used for the public good and not for the royal family.
The Crown Estate confirmed on Thursday that it had signed lease agreements for six offshore wind projects. Such a windfall would normally lead to increased funding for the royals under complex arrangements that support the activities of the monarchy in the UK.
But Buckingham Palace said Charles asked that the money be used to help the public, which is struggling to make ends meet amid runaway inflation reaching levels last seen in the 1980s.
The new king highlighted the cost of living crisis in his first Christmas message and paid tribute to people who “support those who need it most, along with the many charities doing extraordinary work in the most difficult circumstances.”
The Crown Estate is an independently run commercial business, but its profits are used as a benchmark for funding the Sovereign Grant, the public money that funds the royal family’s official work. The grant, which is now 86.3 million pounds ($106.4 million) a year, is calculated as a percentage of the profits generated by the estate, lucrative real estate belonging to the king by virtue of the role of him as monarch.
The grant is equivalent to 15% of the benefits of the inheritance. An additional 10% was agreed for a period of 10 years from 2017-2018 for the Buckingham Palace restoration project.
