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Danish Prime Minister's Office Overpays Royal House by 300,000 Kroner
🇩🇰 Denmark /Elections & Politics

Danish Prime Minister's Office Overpays Royal House by 300,000 Kroner

From Berlingske · () Danish

Translated from Danish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • Denmark's Prime Minister's Office mistakenly overpaid the royal house by 300,000 Danish kroner between April 2025 and March 2026.
  • The error stemmed from a failure to adjust a technical index following a new civil list law passed in 2024.
  • The overpaid amount will be returned to the state within the current fiscal year as agreed upon by the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Finance, and the royal house.

Denmark's Prime Minister's Office has admitted to an error that resulted in overpaying the royal house by 300,000 Danish kroner. The overpayment occurred during the period from April 2025 to March 2026, according to a statement from Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen to the Finance Committee of the Folketing (parliament).

The amount corresponds to 0.2 percent of the total disbursed benefit.

— Prime Minister's OfficeDescribing the scale of the overpayment to the royal house.

The sum represents a small fraction, approximately 0.2 percent, of the total funds allocated to the royal family. The mistake originated from the index regulation process, which is supposed to occur twice annually based on Statistics Denmark's wage index for state employees. The Prime Minister's Office failed to update the technical index in 2025 after a new civil list law, which governs the royal family's annual allowance, was enacted in 2024.

Following the discovery of the error, an agreement has been reached between the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Finance, and the royal house. The overpaid amount will be repaid within the current fiscal year. This incident comes after a significant increase in the royal family's allowance was approved by a parliamentary majority in 2024, following Queen Margrethe's abdication.

The reason for the error is due to the index regulation that must occur twice annually in line with the development of Statistics Denmark's wage index for state employees.

— Prime Minister's OfficeExplaining the cause of the financial mistake.

At the time of the allowance increase, the government stated the funds were necessary to support a "modern and future-proof monarchy," reflecting societal developments since 1972. Queen Margrethe received an annual allowance of 94 million kroner, while King Frederik now receives nearly 123 million kroner annually, which also covers Queen Mary. After her abdication, Queen Margrethe was allocated 12 million kroner annually for personal expenses and housing.

The money was intended to support 'a modern and future-proof monarchy,' reflecting societal developments since 1972.

— Mette FrederiksenStated when the government proposed an increase in the royal family's allowance.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Berlingske in Danish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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