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'Royal Family's staying power rests on ancient institution fitting modern day values'

The King has become the first monarch to share the details of his annual tax payment, as the Mirror's royal editor Russell Myers examines what the frank disclosure means to reassure the public on the Firm's finances

[Britain's King Charles III arrives to officially open the South Wales Metro Depot in the South Wales town of Taff's Well on November 14, 2025, as the king marks his 77th birthday]

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King Charles is publishing his personal tax details for the first time(Image: Adrian Dennis/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

If you happen to live on these fine shores, the subject of scorching temperatures these past couple of weeks will no doubt have dominated every waking moment of your life. Quite possibly every attempted moment of sleep as well.

Buckingham Palace aides were quick to point out that our hardy King was not one to be sidetracked, even though the mercury launched to record levels.

Charles took part in three engagements on Tuesday, a meeting with the Afghan Women's cricket team, a visit to a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu academy and fittingly, a Palace reception for climate change campaigners. Quite the day by anyone's standards.

[Vice Admiral Sir Tony Johnstone-Burt, Master of the Household, holds up a fan to the King at an event on climate change ]

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The King undertook several engagements this week, despite the scorching heat(Image: Getty Images)

Yet, the issue that will garner most attention this week will be the publication for the first time of the Kings tax payment. There are many days in the royal calendar us royal correspondents delight in attending. Coronations, Trooping the Colour, garden parties, royal tours, to name just a few.

The annual Sovereign Grant royal briefing is generally not one of them. With hundreds of pages of financial reports, minute details on the operations of the royal familys operations, the business affairs of Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall laid out, it is a gargantuan effort for all the journalists poring through the detail on behalf of our readers, viewers and the general public.

Following on from his position as Prince of Wales, and in charge of the Duchy of Cornwall, Charles voluntarily released payments made to the Treasury which stood around 4-6million per year.

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Controversially, Prince William chose not to repeat this practice when he inherited the title and the Duchy on his father's accession. But now the time has come for him to state his tax affairs to the public on account of the Kings release and this year becoming the first monarch in history to do so.

[The King with oldest son, Prince William ]

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William is following in the footsteps of his father, sharing the details of his tax affairs(Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

The decision to be so open has raised two points. On one hand we can see the millions paid by the King and his heir to the public coffers, which the late Queen Elizabeth II only started contributing in 1993 - more than 40 years into her reign.

On the other, considering the sums involved and the immense disparity of wealth in the world today, should we demand to know more about the royal family's financial affairs.

The topic of whether the monarchy delivers value for money is and always will be hotly disputed. In one sense, the 12% it receives back from the Treasury on account of the Crown Estates huge profits represents a small amount of the total sum.

On the flip side, should a billionaire King and his now incredibly independently wealthy son be taking any money from the public purse when they have so much at their disposal?

[King Charles has become the first monarch to share his personal tax payment details ]

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King Charles has become the first monarch to share his personal tax payment details (Image: PA)

Having followed the public work and lives of the royal family for nearly a decade, I can speak of the work they carry out. The hundreds of engagements at home and abroad, the reliance on the Government of the day on them - just look at the tariffs deal for Scottish whisky signed by US President Donald Trump as a result of the King and Queens State Visit in April, reportedly worth 4million a week to the industry. The true cost or benefit of soft diplomacy is perhaps unquantifiable.

In preparation for this historic announcement, Buckingham Palace stated the Kings position was thus: To put it simply: we continue to modernise and evolve.

Regardless of the questions over finances, suitability and need for our royals, their longevity will perhaps be judged on the institutions ability to increase transparency in an age where expectations of an ancient institution must fit with the values of the time.

Get the inside scoop on the monarchy with Mirror Royal

[Russell Myers]

Russell Myers

Russell Myers is Associate Editor and Royal Editor at The Mirror, leading coverage on the biggest royal stories of the last decade. He is an international broadcaster and author of the bestselling book 'William and Catherine: The Intimate Inside Story'. As co-host of the globally successful royal podcast Pod Save the King - which has garnered more than 15 million downloads to date - he was the recipient of a British Press Award in 2021. You can keep up with all the latest royal news and exclusive insight behind palace walls by signing up to his newsletter, Royal Insider. Previously he was Chief Investigative Reporter for The Mirror and nominated for Scoop of the Year at the British Press Awards and British Journalism Awards.

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