[imagesource: PA Wire]

As old-fashioned as a monarchy is, there are those who still staunchly support the idea of a royal family.

But all that waving and smiling actually cost the country’s citizens quite a lot.

Granted, the money needed for living rent-free in fancy digs and getting to wear ritzy designer clothes has to come from somewhere, with that somewhere being the taxpayers’ pocket.

British taxpayers fund their royal family through the annual Sovereign Grant and Sovereign Grant Reserve, which totalled £86,3 million for the financial year 2020-2021 – at a cost of some £1,20 per person in the United Kingdom.

Official expenditure by the monarchy rose by £14,9 million (up 17% from £87,5 million) in 2020/2021 – putting that figure at a mind-bending £102,4 million.

According to Bloomberg, these funds are used towards 201 official engagements carried out by the Queen in the last financial year (88 more than the 113 she undertook in 2020-2021 during the pandemic), as well as almost 2 300 official engagements by the royals in the UK and overseas (compared to 1 470 last year).

Meanwhile, £63,9 million has been reserved for property maintenance.

The other figures for royal engagements include:

491– Full-time equivalent staff paid for from the Sovereign Grant, with the wage bill coming to £23,7 million.

£1,3 million– Cost of housekeeping and hospitality for the royal household – an increase of half a million or 55%.

£4,5million – Cost of official royal travel, a rise of £1,2 million or around 41% from £3,2 million the previous year.

Prince Charles’ trip to Barbados – a moment that marked the country’s transition to a republic – cost a cool £138 457 alone, while the cost of official travel for William and Kate’s controversial Caribbean tour cost an even cooler £226 383.

Image: Aaron Chown/PA) (PA Wire)

Prince Charles spends and uses the most money:

£23 million – Charles’s annual private income from the Duchy of Cornwall landed estate, up from £20.4 million in 2020-21.

£3,3 million – Charles’s non-official expenditure for himself and his family including salary costs of personal staff and a proportion of costs of gardeners and estate workers and the cost of Highgrove and Birkhall.

£107,000 – Official costs of Charles’s London office and official residence Clarence House.

£5,9 million – Charles’s tax bill.

Prince Charles’ capital expenses, which include the bill for the Cambridges’ activities, come in at around £4,4 million.

At least he no longer pays for the Sussexes, which would have cost an extra £1,2 million.

[source:bloomberg]