The key members of the Royal Family spent £5.3 million on their
“business travel” during the year to 31 March, according to the annual report of expenditure
by the Queen and the highest profile members of her family.
During the year, the Royal Family undertook almost 3,200
official engagements in the United Kingdom and overseas.
The most expensive trip undertaken was an official trip to Africa,
Angola, Malawi and Botswana by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex (Prince Harry and
Meghan Markle). The second most expensive was a £210,000 visit to Oman by the
Prince of Wales to pay condolences on the passing of Sultan Qaboos bin Said. An
official visit to Pakistan by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge was the third
most expensive, at £117,000.
The cost of using helicopters increased from £1.7 million to
£2.4 million in 2019/20 while the cost of using fixed wing aircraft fell from
£1.7 million to £1.4 million. Rail travel, principally the use of the Ryal Train,
cost £0.7 million.
The costs of royal travel are met from the Sovereign
Grant. “Safety, security, the need to minimise disruption for others, the
effective use of time, environmental impact and cost are taken into account
when deciding on the most appropriate means of travel,” the report says.
The report added that greenhouse gas emissions from business
travel decreased by 42% thanks to a reduction in the number of large overseas
tours in the year compared to the previous one.