The royals dip into savings as Queen’s death and inflation send their finances running up to £21 million

Queen Elizabeth’s death and raging inflation forced royal officials to dip into their rain fund last year, official records show today.

The royal expenditure was £107.5 million, but the cost to the taxpayer remained static at £86.3 million, with royal officials dipping £20.7 million into their reserves.

The annual Sovereign Grant report detailing how the monarchy is funded by taxpayers, made public today, reveals that the late Queen’s funeral cost the palace £1.6 million.

Last year’s Platinum Anniversary celebration cost a further £700,000.

The state gun carriage carries Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin, draped in the royal standard with the Imperial State Crown and the Sovereign’s orb and sceptre, in the ceremonial procession through The Mall after her state funeral

King Charles III with Lionel Richie and Lisa Parigi at a garden party at Buckingham Palace, London

There were also £444,000 in ‘exit packages’ for 16 members of Queen Elizabeth’s staff who lost their jobs. Other key highlights from the 2022/23 review include:

• Harry and Meghan have now officially ‘vacated’ Frogmore Cottage after being evicted by the King.
• The Sussexes have paid all the taxpayer’s expenses to refurbish the property – more than £2.4 million. But officials declined to discuss whether the Duke of York will be forced to move in, saying it was not appropriate to discuss his “private leases” on his existing mansion, Royal Lodge.
• The cost of royal travel has fallen from £4.5 million to £3.9 million.
• Energy costs have skyrocketed and utility bills have risen by 40 per cent to £4.5 million.
• The Sovereign Grant is frozen at £86.3 million, with £51.8 million to fund the King’s official duties plus a further £34.5 million for ongoing construction work on Buckingham Palace.
• Palace officials say the cost of the monarchy to the British public still comes in at just £1.29 per person.

Sir Michael Stevens, keeper of the secret purse, said it had been an “exceptional year” for the royal family. “It relates to a year of grief, change and celebration the likes of which our nation has not experienced in seven decades,” he added.

The Royal Family carried out 2,710 engagements in the UK and abroad, an increase of 14 per cent on the previous year.

The Princess of Wales reopened the Young V&A museum in East London’s Bethnal Green yesterday. She wore a £720 belted pink midi dress by Beulah.

The Princess of Wales, patron of the V&A, leaves after visiting the opening of the Young V&A in Bethnal Green, East London

The Flying Scotsman pulls the Royal Train along the North Yorkshire Moors Railway No. Goathland en route to Pickering, North Yorkshire

King Charles III and members of the royal family follow behind the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in the royal standard with the imperial state crown and the orb and scepter

Labor costs saw one of the largest annual increases of any expenditure, rising from £3.4m to £27.1m, with lower paid staff receiving a pay rise of around 5-6 per cent. Household and hospitality increased from £1.3m to £2.4m and utility bills rose from £3.2m to £4.5m.

The palace generated £9.8 million in revenue, mainly from leases and the annual summer opening to the public.

Combined with a “flat” Sovereign Grant, which has remained at the same level for two years and will not rise next year, lower attendances after Covid and the Queen’s death have “put a strain on our finances,” officials admitted. But they added: “We are confident that we can balance our needs with the resources at our disposal. . . and we will not ask the Treasury for more money.’

The Crown Estate, meanwhile, has to pay even more money to the Treasury after a boost from offshore wind energy. It made £442.6m profit last year, £130m more than the previous year, which the King has made clear he wants to go to help government finances.

For the first year, the Duchy of Cornwall – which funds the Prince of Wales’s public work and private activities – is not publishing its accounts because there was a transition between Charles and Prince William. The estate surplus was £24 million, which will be split to cover Charles’ work as Prince of Wales last year – £11.275 million – and William, who received £12.773 million.

William, the new Duke of Cornwall, has returned £6.873 million in working capital. Like his father, he pays income tax.