London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 01, 2025

King Charles to give back profit from $1 bln-a-year wind farm deal

King Charles to give back profit from $1 bln-a-year wind farm deal

King Charles told the British government he would like an expected surge in profit from a 900 million pound ($1.1 billion)-a-year wind farm deal for his Crown Estate to go to the "wider public good" rather than to the royal family.
Under agreements announced on Thursday, the Crown Estate will lease sites for six new offshore wind projects that are capable of generating enough green electricity to power more than seven million homes by 2030.

The leases are collectively worth almost 900 million pounds a year according to Crown Estate financial data, following a bidding frenzy for the sites among companies such as oil majors BP (BP.L) and Total Energies (TTEF.PA).

A spokesperson for Buckingham Palace said King Charles' treasurer, known as the Keeper of the Privy Purse, had written to the prime minister and finance minister "to share the king's wish that this windfall be directed for wider public good, rather than to the Sovereign Grant".

Under an agreement with the government, the royal family receives a "Sovereign Grant" that covers the running costs of the royal households and travel expenses. It is based on 15% of surplus revenue from the Crown Estate - a property portfolio belonging to the monarchy.

The portfolio includes virtually all of the seabed around the United Kingdom, some of the most expensive land in London and city shopping centres.

Sharing the wind farm windfall would happen through "an appropriate reduction" in the proportion of the Crown Estate surplus that funds the Sovereign Grant.

The Sovereign Grant was last year worth 86.3 million pounds ($107 million) and the value of the property portfolio would be expected to rise as offshore wind becomes a key factor in Britain's renewable energy production.

Charles, who became king in September after the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth, referenced the cost of living crisis facing many in Britain when he made his first Christmas address to the nation.

Millions of people are struggling with their finances as the cost of energy, food and mortgages rise, prompting workers across a vast range of sectors to go on strike.

While polls show that more than 50% of the country feel positively towards the royal family, headlines showing that their income had risen during an economic downturn could have proven difficult.

($1 = 0.8110 pounds)
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×