The Royal Foundation’s income rose by 73% in 2021 to over £20m, according to the most recently filed accounts.
Turnover for the charity, which is the primary philanthropic vehicle for Kate Middleton and Prince William, increased to £20.4m in the year to 31 December 2021, up from £11.8m in 2020 and £6.7m in 2019.
The increase was largely due to the inaugural Earthshot Prize, the Foundation's environmental award, being held last October. But it expects income to revert back to lower levels in 2022 as the Prize becomes a separate charity.
Meanwhile, the highest paid individual at the charity earns between £170,000 and £180,000.
Restricted fund income nearly quadrupled
The accounts show 98% of total income consisted of donations, grants, royalty and legacy income.
Restricted fund income nearly quadrupled to £18.6m, due primarily to income relating to the inaugural Earthshot Prize which accounted for 89% of restricted income and 81% of total income in the year.
“With the Earthshot Prize spinning out to become an independent charity in the second half of 2022, income is expected to revert back to a lower level in 2022,” the accounts read.
Meanwhile, unrestricted income fell by 3.6% to £1.8m, “reflecting some large unrestricted donations received in the prior year”.
Total expenditure in 2021 increased to £16.4m, up from £9.2m the year prior, of which £15.1m was spent on charitable activities.
The accounts state the increased level of expenditure predominantly reflects the inaugural Earthshot Prize taking place in October 2021. The Earthshot Prize accounted for £12.1m of expenditure in the year, including the cost of the five prizes of £1m each.
Agreement with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex
The Royal Foundation was set up in 2009 by Prince William and Prince Harry and works on a range of projects.
In June 2019, Prince Harry and Meghan had announced that they would be leaving the Royal Foundation to create their own charity.
On 18 December 2019, an agreement was signed with the Sussex Royal Foundation by which the Royal Foundation intended to grant half of the net future proceeds received by the Diana Fund to Sussex Royal.
In March 2020, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced that they would no longer be operating Sussex Royal as their primary philanthropic vehicle in the UK.
Accordingly, as requested by the Duke of Sussex, the trustees approved the donating of their share of the net income of the Diana Fund to Sentebale, a UK-registered charity of which the Duke of Sussex is a patron.
Related Articles
