Pay freeze for King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain: this is how much they are paid

The extension of Spain's general state budget (PGE) from 2021 not only affects ministries and public bodies, but also the royal household of His Majesty the King. The annual allocation earmarked to support Spain's royal family and the institution's operations has remained unchanged since that year at 8,431,150 euros, an amount that Felipe VI administers autonomously in accordance with article 65 of the Spanish Constitution.

According to the official accounts released by the Zarzuela Palace royal residence on Monday, endorsed by the court of auditors, the king's household closed the 2024 financial year with a loss of 99,591 euros. The 2023 financial year ended in the black by 379,996 euros. For 2026, Felipe VI will have a budget identical to this year's, as the public accounts for 2023 remain in effect.

However, in this year, 2025 witnessed an unprecedented event: for the first time during a budget extension, the distribution of appropriations from the previous year was not automatically replicated. Nevertheless, a new spending structure has been approved, adjusted to the real and current needs of the royal household and designed to reinforce the royal head of state's commitment to efficient management and institutional transparency.

One of the new developments is that the royal household has withdrawn 950,153 euros from its reserves, funded by unspent amounts from previous years and financial interest, primarily from the Bank of Spain. This money will be used to finance a secure communications and digital transformation project, which is key to strengthening cybersecurity, modernising IT systems and ensuring the institution's operational continuity in an increasingly demanding technological environment.

Therefore, the royal household's total budget for 2025 amounts to 9,381,303 euros. The bulk of the expenditure, as in previous years, is for personnel, starting with allowances for members of the royal family, to the salaries of senior management, technical staff, drivers, security personnel and employees assigned from 'Patrimonio Nacional' (national heritage).

The Spanish royal family's salaries remain unchanged from 2024, keeping to the general 2.5% increase applied at the time to the entire public sector. As a result, King Felipe VI is to receive 277,361 euros, while Queen Letizia receives 152,539 euros. Queen Sofía, the king's mother, receives 124,814 euros. Neither the Princess of Asturias nor the Infanta Sofía receive any remuneration, in line with their institutional role still being established. Nor does the former king receive an allowance since Felipe VI withdrew it in 2020 as an institutional gesture following the investigation into Juan Carlos I's overseas fortune.

This year's budget includes 854,712 euros for senior management salaries, while three million euros are allocated to current expenditure on goods and services related to the institution's regular operations and development of the official agenda. In addition, the amount of 671,558 euros is planned for representative and protocol activities for the king and queen, while investments will be made to renew technological and audiovisual equipment, to purchase digital licences and to update materials subject to inventory.

The handling of the royal household's budget is audited annually by the Court of Auditors, in line with its commitment to transparency, which issued a favourable report for the 2024 financial year. In fact, there was a notable increase in budgetary efficiency, with an execution rate of 98.73%, compared to 85.66% the previous year. Furthermore, it was necessary to draw on reserves to undertake strategic investments of 2.48 million euros, particularly in technology and equipment for the new audiovisual room at Zarzuela Palace.

In terms of institutional activity, the royal family participated in 457 official events during 2024, both in Spain and abroad. The most relevant areas were state institutions (21%), international relations (20%), culture (12%), solidarity (10%), defence (8%) and economy (7%). These six areas accounted for 78% of all official duties, reflecting a varied agenda, committed and aligned with the state's strategic interests.

Books, sculptures, portraits, photographs and various items of clothing and accessories, including football shirts, dominate the 358 institutional gifts received by members of the royal family in 2024, as published on the royal household's website on Monday.

King Felipe was the recipient of 203 of these gifts, while Queen Letizia received 88, the Princess of Asturias another seven and Felipe's mother, Doña Sofía, four. The rest are shared gifts, either for both king and queen (33), for the monarchs and their daughters (six), for Letizia and her daughters (eight), or for both princesses (nine).

The works of art include two sculptures by Jaume Plensa, from when Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofia visited his workshop in Sant Feliu de Llobregat (Barcelona) in July last year, and a bust of the heir to the Spanish throne by Armenian artist Sargis Yesayan, which was presented after the Princess of Asturias awards ceremony.