Prince Charles is the heir to the British throne and now undertakes overseas visits on behalf of his mother, Queen Elizabeth, 93. The Prince of Wales took three principal trips with his wife of 14 years, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall between April 2018 and March 2019 as well as numerous others. The cost of these trips comes to a staggering total amount – and the figures have now been revealed. The huge sums were revealed in the most recent Sovereign Grant Report.
The Sovereign Grant Report for the year up to 31 March 2019 highlights Royal Family travel costs, the total cost of which came to £2.7 million.
Prince Charles’ visits abroad with Camilla amounted to nearly half of the total sum of royal travel.
The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall spent £1.3 million on travel for royal engagements over the past year – up by almost a third on the previous year.
The report shows that Charles and Camilla’s March 2019 visit to St Lucia, Barbados, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Kitts and Nevis, Grenada, Cuba and Grand Cayman cost £417,000.
Their visit to Ghana, Gambia and Nigeria in October/November 2018 came to £216,000 while their May 2018 trip to Greece and France cost £160,000.
A June 2018 trip around the Republic of Ireland came to £57,000 for the two royals.
Prince Charles also took an individual trip to Wales in December 2018 by Royal Train which cost £17,000 while an individual visit Scotland in January 2019 came to the same sum. Another lone visit to Wales in February 2019 by Prince Charles cost £20,000.
The majority of the Prince of Wales’ visits abroad saw him travelling by charter flights while his staff flew on scheduled flights.
However, on the couple’s visit to the Caribbean and Cuba, Charles and Camilla flew on RAF Voyager.
The report clarifies: “The travel costs for the tours also include the costs associated with staff undertaking visits in advance in order to plan the tour programmes.”
It adds: “Safety, security, dignity, 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.
“Staff may travel with members of the Royal Family or separately (e.g. to undertake reconnaissance visits or to arrive in advance).”
According to the report, all overseas visits funded by the Sovereign Grant are determined by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and approved by the Royal Visits Committee.
Prince Charles and Camilla are not alone in taking incredibly expensive overseas visits, however.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s visit to Australia, New Zealand, Tonga and Fiji cost £81,000.
Meanwhile, Prince William’s visit to Jordan, Israel and Palestinian occupied territories came to £74,000.
