The British royal family have an estimated net worth of over $40.4 billion AUD (£21.3 billion), making the House of Windsor one of the wealthiest families in the world.
The royal family’s expenses are largely covered by the Sovereign Grant; a taxpayer funded grant that covers official travel, property maintenance, and daily operating costs.
With the royal family attending 2,175 official engagements between April 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023, the day to day operation of the royal household is certain to come with a high price tag.
Want to know just how much the royal family spend? Woman’s Day breaks down the 2022-23 Sovereign Grant Report to find out exactly where the House of Windsor spend their money.
Where did the royal family spend the most?
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Travel – £2.78 million
During the 2022-23 financial year, the royal family spent over $5.3 million AUD (£2.78 million) on their travel expenses, with none of the listed official expenses totalling less than $32,000 AUD (£17,000).
The most expensive official visit was King Charles and Queen Camilla’s four day trip to Rwanda, with a total cost of $355,768 (£186,571).
This is followed by the King and Queen’s first official state visit as monarch, with their two day trip to Germany totalling $278,820 (£146,219).
The Prince and Princess of Wales’ official visits also came with a hefty price tag, with Prince William and Princess Catherine’s three day trip to Boston for the Earthshot Prize Awards costing a total of $91,598 (£48,034).
It was not only official engagements that cost the royal family, with the House of Windsor spending $1.9 million AUD (£1.02 million) on 179 helicopter journeys, and the King and Queen spending $44,158 AUD (£23,164) on a single trip between their royal residences in England and Scotland.
King Charles and Queen Camilla seen here on the royal family’s private Airbus A330.
(Image: Getty)Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee – £700,000
The Queen marked 70 years as monarch in February 2022.
To mark the milestone anniversary, the Sovereign Grant covered the $1.3 million AUD (£700,000) cost of the festivities.
The Platinum Jubilee celebrations included the Trooping the Colour, National Service of Thanksgiving, BBC Concert, and the Jubilee Pageant.
Queen Elizabeth II Funeral – £1.6 million
Queen Elizabeth II passed away on September 8, 2022, with her funeral costing $3.04 million AUD (£1.6 million).
The expenditure covered the costs related the late Queen’s various funeral services; lying in state, funeral, and committal service.
The United Kingdom observed a ten day mourning period following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.
(Image: Getty)Staff Salaries – £27.1 million
For the 2022-23 financial year, the royal family spent $51.5 million AUD (£27.1 million) on staff remuneration.
According to the Sovereign Grant Report, the highest paid member of royal staff was Sir Edward Young, who served as Queen Elizabeth II private secretary from September 2017 to September 2022; being paid an annual salary between $435-445,000 AUD (£230-235,000).
Young departed the royal household in May 2023 and received a total compensation payment of $275,000 (£145,000).
For general staff within the royal household, their total remuneration for 2022-23 ranged from $47,267 AUD (£24,856) to $82,800 (£43,550).
The Royal Household welcomed over 95,000 people to the royal residences over the year.
(Image: Getty)Housekeeping and Hospitality – £2.4 million
The royal family almost doubled their total housekeeping and hospitality expenditure for 2022-23 financial year, spending $4.5 million AUD (£2.4 million) over the year.
The largest portion of their overall expenditure was food and beverages, with the royal family spending $2.8 million AUD (£1.5 million) across their royal residences.
Maintaining the cleanliness of the royal residences also came with a luxury price tag, with the family spending $1.7 million AUD (£900,000) on household cleaning and laundry services.
