Greenpeace has threatened to take legal action against the Crown Estate, accusing the body that manages King Charles's land and assets of "monopoly profiteering" from the prices at which it leases seabed plots for offshore wind farms.
The warning comes ahead of a new auction in which developers will bid for seabed rights.
Greenpeace alleges that the Crown Estate’s uncapped auction system has inflated costs for the sector, impacting energy bills for households and businesses, solely to boost revenues for the monarchy.
In 2024/25, the Crown Estate, which owns the seabed around much of the UK, earned £1.1 billion, more than doubling its profits over two years due to booming offshore wind developments.
This will boost King Charles’s official income to £132.1 million next year, up from £86.3 million, largely as a result, while the Crown Estate Commissioner’s pay has increased fivefold since 2015.
Greenpeace UK co-executive director Will McCallum said the seabed should be managed “in the interest of the nation and the common good,” calling on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to order an independent review.
The Crown Estate has said its duty is to maximise profits, a position Greenpeace argues contradicts its legal obligations to support sustainable development.
The threat of legal action was first reported in the Financial Times on Monday.