Charles Spends £6.7m On Staff

Prince Charles's reputation for extravagance was given an unwelcome boost this morning when his office published figures showing he spent £6.7m last year on a staff of 135.

The figures contained in the Annual Review 2012 cover Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall as well as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, but the vast majority of the staff are Charles's. Harry, William and Kate have the equivalent of just nine full-time staff members.

His total public funding rose by 11%, from £1,962,000 in 2010/2011 to £2,194,000.

The cost of travel by air and rail for the prince and the Duchess of Cornwall to attend official engagements was £1,318,000, up from £1.08m.

The prince's private income from the Duchy of Cornwall rose by 3% to £18.3m. He paid £4,496,000 in tax.

The accounts show that Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall travelled nearly 48,000 miles (77,248km) to official engagements in Britain and abroad.

Prince Charles's contribution to Prince William's wedding to Kate Middleton is not itemised in the report, but forms part of non-official expenditure totaling £2,609,000.

The annual report said the prince and duchess helped raise, directly or indirectly, £131m for charity.

It said Prince Charles's 16 charities "represent, as a group, the largest multi-cause charitable enterprise in the UK."

The published accounts don't reveal is the cost of the dresses of the newest royal, the Duchess of Cambridge.

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Tom SykesEuropean Editor at Large

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