Britain's King Charles III has requested that the annual profits from his windfarm deal be directed towards helping the cost-of-living crisis in the UK rather than support the royal family, the Crown Estate confirmed Thursday.

Under Charles, who has spoken publicly of a desire to combat climate change, the Crown Estate signed lease agreements for 6 offshore windfarms. In 2022, the annual profits totaled some 1 billion pounds ($1.2 billion). The king has asked that this money be redistributed to the public.

The deal also significantly expands the prevalance of wind power in the UK, with the government claiming that the new windfarms will power 7 million homes by 2030.

In his first Christmas speech, the king touched on how the country's was experiencing some of its toughest economic times since the 1980s. He praised people who "support those around them in greatest need, together with the many charitable organizations which do such extraordinary work in the most difficult circumstances.''

What is the Crown Estate?

The Crown Estate is the name of the royal family's private commercial business. Usually, its profits set the benchmark for how much public money should be given to supporting the monarchy, known as the Sovereign Grant, versus how much comes from land and estates owned by Charles as the monarch.

Typically, the Sovereign Grant amounts to 15% of the Crown Estate's annual profits. However, in 2017 an additional 10% a year was agreed to for a period of 10 years in order to finance massive renovations at Buckingham Palace.

es/rt (AFP, AP)