The monarchy cost taxpayers £35.7m last year, according to detailed annual accounts published by Buckingham Palace.
The Queen’s income is expected to soar more than 5% next year as the Crown Estate has reported record profits. It is expected to reach £40m.
According to accounts, the Queen’s spending increased by £2.4m last year. The figure excludes the bill for security for family members and visitors.
Property maintenance for the Royals cost the taxpayer £13.3m, a £4.2m increase since last year. The taxpayer forked out £4m for Wills and Kate’s apartment refurbishment.
A Kensington Palace spokesman said: “Before the project started, the residence was in a state of disrepair.
“It was last refurbished in 1963.”
The travel bill for the Royal family has dropped from £4.5m in 2012-13 to £4.2m last year. However, costs are still eye-wateringly high.
The taxpayer paid £255,000 towards travel cost for the Prince of Wales to attend Nelson Mandela’s funeral. Prince Andrew spent £14,692 on a charter flight from Farnborough to Scotland and Prince Harry spent £10,888 on a first-class return ticket from Heathrow to Washington, Denver then New York.
Sir Alan Reid, keeper of the Privy Purse, defended the costs saying public funding of the monarchy had dropped by 8% in real terms in the last two years.
“We take our responsibility to run as efficient an operation as possible,” he told the media.
“In our view we think that we do as good a job as possible in terms of trying maximise the value for money.”
Graham Smith, chief executive of campaign group Republic, said: “The job of reporting royal finances needs to be taken out of the hands of the palace and given to some honest brokers.
“The spin has to stop, the excuses have to stop, the royals need to be held to account for their profligacy.”
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