Queen not a royal spender
2008-06-27 20:44
London - Buckingham Palace accountants claimed on Friday that Queen Elizabeth II and the royal family are a relative bargain for British taxpayers - even though the government spent £40m last year to help them live and travel in style.
It costs each British subject "less than the cost of two pints of milk or a download to an iPod" to fund the monarchy, according to a statement posted on Friday on the queen's website.
The public cost of maintaining the monarchy - including the money needed by the queen to perform her official duties as head of state - amounted to just 66 pence per taxpayer for the year that ended March 31, officials said.
This reflected a slight increase from the previous year, mostly due to higher travel costs stemming from an extended trip to the United States, and an increase in the cost of the Queen's Civil List, which reflects the cost of carrying out her official role.
Those tasks include the opening of Parliament, receiving foreign dignitaries and hosting a series of garden parties each summer.
Overall, accountants said the public cost of keeping the monarchy going increased by £2m from the year before.
It seems the same factors driving inflation in many parts of the world - higher prices for fuel and food - are affecting the queen as well.
But officials said the queen is watching expenditures closely to keep costs in line and also deferring maintenance work at some royal residences because of budgetary concerns.
Sir Alan Reid, Keeper of the Privy Purse, said the queen's financial advisers pay "continuous attention to obtaining value for money".
The extensive file of documents released on Friday does not list individual budget items, such as the cost of the hotels or residences the queen uses on her visits overseas, but it does indicate that her most expensive trip was a lengthy trip to the United States to mark the 400th anniversary of the Jamestown settlement.
The cost of the chartered aircraft for that trip alone cost taxpayers more than £380 000, according to the official documents.
Accountants said the cost of royal travel is dictated in part by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, which asks the queen to take specific trips.
The documents made public Friday basically cover the cost of royal travel and maintaining and improving royal property. Officials said that in real terms the expenditure had decreased by 3.1% over the last seven years.
- AP