King Charles' charity pays £60,000 a year to Crown Estate for Lifeboat Stations

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) whose patron is King Charles is paying more than £60,000 a year in rent to the Crown Estate for dozens of its lifeboat stations.

According to a new report, prompting fresh questions about the cost of maintaining lifesaving services on royal-owned land.

The Mail on Sunday reports that the charity is charged annual rent for 43 lifeboat stations and related facilities across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The largest bill comes from its busy station near Waterloo Bridge in central London, where the annual rent is said to be around £31,000.

After Prince William's Duchy of Cornwall announced last year that it would no longer charge rent for six RNLI stations on its land.

The decision removed more than £10,000 in annual fees following criticism over the duchy's finances.

Unlike the Duchy of Cornwall, however, the Crown Estate operates under different rules.

It manages extensive areas of Britain's coastline and seabed on behalf of the nation and is legally required to generate income for the public purse.

The report also claims the RNLI paid £110,000 in 2013 to purchase a small section of Crown Estate seabed beneath a new lifeboat station at Mumbles Pier near Swansea.

Despite the investment, the station has remained closed for more than three years because of safety concerns surrounding the pier.

Former government minister Norman Bake criticised the arrangement that the charity pays significant sums to operate some of its stations.

He said the King could use his position as patron to encourage a different approach or help ensure the charity does not face such costs.

Responding to the criticism, the Crown Estate said it could not offer land at a loss because it is required to deliver value for taxpayers.