Queen's Annual Spend Revealed

Last week it was Prince Charles's turn, but today it was the Queen's day to unveil her spending habits for the past year.

And the news is that the cost to the taxpayer of supporting the monarchy rose very slightly, by £200,000 (0.6%) from £32.1 million in 2010/11 to £32.3 million in 2011/12, according to her annual report.

The taxpayer funds used to pay for official air and rail travel at home and abroad for members of the Royal Family increased by £100,000 from £6 million in 2010/11 to £6.1 million in 2011/12.

There was also an increase in spending on property services - money used for the upkeep of royal residences and other buildings - from £11.9 million to £12.2 million. But the cost of running the Buckingham Palace press office, maintaining the official website and providing information to the public fell from £500,000 to £400,000.

Sir Alan Reid, Keeper of the Privy Purse, said: "When the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced his plans for the public expenditure to reduce by 25% in real terms over a four-year period, the Queen was very keen that the Royal Household should play its part in reducing its expenditure accordingly.

"We are pleased to report that we have achieved this reduction a year ahead of the public expenditure target and managed to transfer £3.3 million to the Sovereign Grant reserve. The decrease in expenditure is due mainly to the continuation of a pay freeze, increased income generation, and the deferral of property maintenance expenditure. Expenditure during this Diamond Jubilee year will require the use of reserves as the first year of the Sovereign Grant provides for funding of only £31 million."

See more of our coverage in your search results.

ADD THE DAILY BEAST ON GOOGLE

Tom SykesEuropean Editor at Large

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.