The Guardian view on royal tax secrecy: it survives King Charles’s latest disclosure | Editorial

K ing Charles has become Britain’s first monarch in modern times to reveal how much tax he pays on his private income: £24.6m over the past two years . This is not a victory for transparency but a win for those who wish to keep the curtain drawn firmly over the royal finances. What is presented as a radical move is in fact more obfuscation . The monarch says he has paid millions in tax, but has not disclosed the income, gains or deductions behind the bill. The royals are funded by taking a cut of crown estate profits – public money that would otherwise go to the Treasury. That amount is decided by three royal trustees : the prime minister, the chancellor and the keeper of the privy purse. The royals have been forced into making the smallest of concessions over their wealth because of the scandal involving the king’s brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, and the late sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein. That saw MPs drop their self‑imposed gag on discussing constitutional monarchy – and begin an investigation into properties leased at cheap rates to the royal family. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Photograph: Toby Melville/PA The palace has obscured scrutiny over the royals’ public and private sources of wealth for decades. The Windsors insist their duchy income, estimated to be worth more than £1bn over the past 70 years, is “private”. The taxpayer’s contribution is also weighted in their favour. …