ANTI-MONARCHY campaigners branded official crown financial figures “more misdirection” today, as Charles becomes the first monarch to publish tax records.

Activists with Republic warned that reporting on royal financing raises more questions than it answers, as the public is still unaware what the King’s income is.

Republic chief executive officer Graham Smith said: “If Charles doesn’t say what his income is, we have no idea if he is paying the top rate of tax, as he should be.”

The report, Mr Smith explained, excludes crucial information which would allow people to understand the real costs associated with supporting the royal family.

He said: “The report talks about Charles’s total tax bill, but is it including VAT, as they have done in previous years?”

The King has declared he paid £12.9 million in tax for the 2024-2025 period, while Prince William said he paid £7.76m, according to the annual royal report and accounts.

Charles and Camilla will also continue living in Clarence House instead of moving into Buckingham Palace following a £369m refurbishment.

Republic slammed the “spin and gloss” in the accounts, which notably included the information that the core element of the Sovereign Grant will nearly double within three years to just under £100m by 2027-28.

This represents the main source of annual public funding to the royal family.

Mr Smith said: “Another hike for Charles, more spin and gloss and more misdirection on taxes. This is the way with royal reporting, the more they reveal the more questions are raised.

“The royals continue to ignore other huge costs, including the loss of assets and profits from the Duchies, which means the bill for the taxpayer is well over half a billion pounds.

“Despite ongoing concerns about the huge cost of the royals, the grant will remain hugely inflated on its initial level of £31m in 2012. If that had risen by inflation the grant would stand at £45m, not £100m.”

He added: “The government agreed to spend £369m on refurbishing Buckingham Palace, and now Charles doesn’t want to use it. But he’ll keep it under lock and key for when he does.”

Mr Smith demanded the palace “be fully open to the public all year round,” adding that royal finances “are out of control and Parliament needs to act to slash the annual budget to below £10m.”