How is the work of The Queen funded? How much does the Royal Family cost the tax payer each year? Does The Queen pay tax - and if not, why not? And do the Crown Jewels and Royal Palaces belong to The Queen?

The Monarchy has sometimes been described as an expensive institution, with Royal finances shrouded in confusion and secrecy. In reality, the Royal Household is committed to ensuring that public money is spent as wisely and efficiently as possible, and to making Royal Finances as transparent and comprehensible as possible.

Each year the Royal Household publishes a summary of Head of State expenditure, together with a full report on Royal public finances. These reports can be downloaded from this section.

This section provides an outline of how the work of the Monarchy is funded. It includes information on Head of State expenditure, together with information about other aspects of Royal finances.

In October 2010 the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a new system of funding The Queen’s Official Expenditure to be known as the Sovereign Grant and the Sovereign Grant Act passed into law in October 2011. This replaces the Civil List and Grants-in-Aid with a single grant from April 2012.