Cut the Royal Budget: Republic Protest Targets Buckingham Palace After MPs Back £99.9m Grant

Anti-monarchy campaigners have renewed calls to 'Cut the Royal Budget' after MPs backed a proposed £99.9 million ($133.5 million) Sovereign Grant for 2027–28, putting Buckingham Palace and royal spending back at the centre of their campaign.

The Commons completed consideration of the Sovereign Grant Bill on 14 September before it moved to the House of Lords the following day. The legislation sets funding for the King's official duties, Royal Household staff, travel and occupied royal palaces, and changes how future grants can be calculated.

Republic, which campaigns for an elected head of state, has used protests at royal residences and events to argue that public funding of the monarchy should be cut.

Why MPs Backed the £99.9m Sovereign Grant

The proposed £99.9 million grant is substantially below the £137.9 million ($184.3 million) Sovereign Grant for 2026–27, but that does not represent a straightforward cut to ordinary royal spending.

The previous figure included additional funding for the decade-long Buckingham Palace Reservicing Programme, which covered major infrastructure work at the palace. With that project ending, the Royal Trustees recommended resetting the grant to £99.9 million from 2027–28.

The House of Commons Library notes that the new figure nevertheless remains 65 per cent higher in real terms than the grant in 2016–17, immediately before the reservicing programme began.

Under the Bill, the reference percentage of Crown Estate net profits used in determining future grants will rise from 12 per cent to 20.5 per cent. The legislation also creates mechanisms allowing funding to fall in future years, replacing rules that previously prevented year-on-year reductions.

Republic's Campaign Targets Buckingham Palace

Republic has seized on the proposed settlement as another reason to challenge royal funding, continuing its 'Cut the Royal Budget' campaign around Buckingham Palace and other royal venues.

The organisation argues that the Sovereign Grant covers only part of the monarchy's public cost. In its own calculations, Republic puts the annual total above £500 million ($668.5 million) once expenses it attributes to security and other forms of public support are included.

That figure is Republic's estimate, not the government's official calculation of the Sovereign Grant.

The campaign group has repeatedly staged banner protests during 2025 and 2026, including actions carrying the message 'Cut the Half Billion Royal Budget,' as it pushes both for lower spending and ultimately the abolition of the monarchy.

Labour MP Questions Royal Funding

Opposition to the settlement also surfaced during the Commons debate.

Labour MP Brian Leishman argued that public money allocated through the Sovereign Grant 'could and should be directed elsewhere,' pointing to financial hardship faced by millions of people.

The government defended the funding arrangements. Ministers say the grant supports the monarch's constitutional and official responsibilities, including Royal Household staffing, official travel, diplomatic engagements and maintenance of occupied royal palaces.

HM Treasury said its 2026 review considered the Royal Household's expected costs, palace maintenance, cyber-security upgrades and energy-efficiency work when determining future funding requirements.

The £99.9 million figure is therefore set to replace the temporarily elevated 2026–27 settlement, but it has not ended the argument over royal finances. With the Bill now proceeding through the Lords, Republic is using the parliamentary decision to keep its campaign against taxpayer-funded monarchy focused firmly on Buckingham Palace.