Royal travel costs soar by £300,000 despite fewer engagements, figures show

Royal travel costs soared by hundreds of thousands of pounds last year despite fewer engagements due to the illness of the King and Princess of Wales, figures show.

The Sovereign Grant report revealed travel expenditure went up by £300,000 at a bill of £4.2m despite there being around 400 fewer visits and less foreign travel than the year before.

The royals managed to attend 2,327 events, down from 2,710 the previous year, with the King and Queen undertaking 665 official engagements between them.

There were 27 separate journeys by Royal Family members listed in the official report for 2023/24 where travel costs were at least £17,000, only eight of which involved the King.

This included the most expensive trip in the 12 months to March 2024, the five-day state visit by the King and Queen to Kenya in October and November 2023, which had travel costs totalling £166,557.

Sir Michael Stevens, keeper of the privy purse, said Buckingham Palace “was at the heart of so many key events” during this coronation year as he reflected on that day.

“It was a glorious moment in our national story and a source of unity and pride after uncertain times for many at home and abroad,” he said.

Meanwhile, Wednesday’s annual report revealed the royal estate was undergoing a climate-friendly makeover in the first full year of King Charles’ reign.

The King pushed ahead with green measures including adding solar panels to the royal estate as well as converting his pair of Bentleys to run on biofuel.

Energy efficient electric “gas” lamps will also be installed as part of the £16.6m spent on property maintenance projects, which saw the removal of asbestos from Buckingham Palace mews and structural repairs to Salisbury Tower.

“Out went the leaking lead roof and in came the Castle’s first solar panels – just one of a number of environmental initiatives, driven by a determination to place sustainability at the heart of our operations and inspired by His Majesty’s leadership in this sphere,” Sir Michael said.

Sir Michael also described the new developments as “small steps, but part of a much wider plan to make a significant impact on our carbon emissions in the years ahead”.

A new head of sustainability was appointed by the monarch in 2023 to accelerate his net zero ambitions, while the two Bentleys will undergo refurbishment in the coming year.

The report also revealed that overall spending fell by 17 per cent to £89.1m from £107.5m, largely due to a decrease in expenditure on the Buckingham Palace Reservicing Programme.

The total Sovereign Grant for 2023-24, has remained static at £86.3m for the third consecutive year. This is split into a core grant of £51.8m to fund official travel, property maintenance and the operating costs with a further £34.5m being used for the continuing renovation of the palace.