Queen worries about royal train being fined claims expert

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Royal experts were left confused after the Royal Family’s annual expenditure costs increased by $5 million over the last 12 months. Buckingham Palace’s finances were “particularly interesting” considering the Queen spent the vast majority of the year isolating in the ‘HMS Bubble’ at Windsor Castle. 

Royal expert and HeirPod host Omid Scobie said: “This year, it was particularly interesting because of course, it was following the year that most of us spent pretty much indoors so to see the numbers rise by almost 5 million dollars to the previous years has many of us looking at those closer details.

“You’ve got $696,000 on cleaning and laundry at Buckingham Palace, $696,000 on replacing a roof on the north wing of Buckingham Palace.

“Here’s a curious item, 47 royal helicopter trips totalling $934,090.”

In sterling, the cost of cleaning and laundry itself amounts to £500,000.

The annual report showed that the Royal Family had cost the UK taxpayer £85.9 million in the year 2020-21. 

While expenditure on travel and payroll had significantly dropped due to the impact of the pandemic, property maintenance increased by £11.2million as the ongoing renovation of Buckingham Palace continues. 

The accounts also showed Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s £2.4million reimbursement of the taxpayer for their renovation of Frogmore Cottage. 

Figures from Clarence House also revealed that Prince Charles had been funding the Sussex couple until last summer. 

During their tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey in March, Prince Harry said he had been financially “cut off” by the Royal Family following the Megxit announcement. 

Accounts from the Prince of Wales however show that the couple received financial support until they had settled in California and secured their financial independence.

For the first time, Buckingham Palace also published figures on its ethnic minority staff. 

They revealed that 8.5% of its employees are designated under this group and that the Palace has a target of 10% by 2022. 

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The Palace recognised it “must do more” in terms of diversity, in a shift towards transparency. 

The move comes after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle accused a senior member of the Royal Family of making a racist comment about the skin tone of their unborn child. 

The Queen’s finances have long been a subject of controversy for the British public. 

The Royal Family are funded by the Sovereign Grant which is paid by the British taxpayer, whilst the profit from the Queen’s property portfolio, the Crown Estate, is fed into the Treasury.

The Queen also receives a private income from the Privy Purse and funds from the Duchy of Lancaster. 

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