Royal accounts: Charles and Camilla spend more than £415k on royal tour as monarchy costs taxpayer £67m

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall took part in the most expensive royal tour of the last financial year, royal accounts have revealed.

Prince Charles and Camilla cost the taxpayer more than £415,000 after they flew on the official ministerial jet RAF Voyager to the Caribbean, at the request of the Government.

They also made an historic visit to Cuba - a first by members of the royal family.

Accounts for the Sovereign Grant, which funds the Queen and her household's official expenses, show the monarchy cost the taxpayer £67 million during 2018-19 - an increase of almost £20 million on the previous financial year.

Figures from the accounts, released on Monday, revealed Charles and Camilla's island-hopping visit in March, which included stops in St Lucia, Grenada, Barbados and Havana among others, cost £416,576.

The cost included journeys made by royal aides who helped to plan the visit.

The heir to the throne carried out the bulk of official overseas travel made by senior royals during the last financial year - reflecting his work supporting the Queen who has not taken a long-haul flight for a number of years.

Charles also travelled to West Africa, visiting the Gambia, Ghana and Nigeria last autumn by charter plane in a journey costing £216,000, which included staff planning trips, and to France and Greece, by RAF Voyager last May, for a trip priced at £159,800.

When the Duke and Duchess of Sussex flew to the South Pacific last autumn for a major tour of Commonwealth countries they travelled by charter plane for part of the itinerary, which cost £81,000 in total, including planning trips by royal aides.

Royal accounts have also revealed how much Prince Harry and Meghan have spent to renovate their home.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s abode Frogmore Cottage cost £2.4 million to refurbish, figures show.

Their country residence, close to Windsor Castle, underwent major work to turn five properties back into a single home for the couple and their baby son Archie - with all fittings and fixtures privately paid for by the duke and duchess.

It is likely they installed a luxury kitchen and bathroom and it has reportedly been designed by the couple with dining and entertaining in mind and with extra bedrooms to accommodate guests, like the duchess' mother Doria Ragland.

A large amount of the rise in royal costs was due to work updating the decades-old services at Buckingham Palace and maintaining the occupied royal palaces.

The Core Sovereign Grant which helps fund the work of the Queen and her household, and pays for other activities like official royal travel, increased by £3.6 million to £49.3 million.

Sir Michael Stevens, Keeper of the Privy Purse, who is responsible for monarchy's accounts, said of Frogmore Cottage: "The property had not been the subject of work for some years and had already been earmarked for renovation in line with our responsibility to maintain the condition of the occupied royal palaces estate.

"The Sovereign Grant covered the work undertaken to turn the building into the official residence and home of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their new family.

"The building was returned to a single residence and outdated infrastructure was replaced to guarantee the long-term future of the property.

"Substantially all fixtures and fittings were paid for by Their Royal Highnesses."

Last year, the Queen did as many as 290 public engagements, including leading the nation on Remembrance Sunday and celebratory events.

The Queen also continued to work with the 600 charities she has links to, either as a Royal Patron or President.

Campaigners have put forward the Royal Family’s funds could have been spent on a hub to provide mental health support for veteran Royal Marines.

The bill for renovations at Frogmore Cottage, Harry and Meghan's home near Windsor Castle, was compared with the cost of building the hub by Graham Smith, chief executive of the Republic campaign group.

"A charity spent £2.4m on a support centre for marines suffering PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). The taxpayers then spent the same amount on a luxury private home for Harry and Meghan," he tweeted.

Harry has close links with the corps, having been appointed as Captain General Royal Marines in December 2017, succeeding his grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh, in the role.

Harry has done extensive work with his fellow veterans.

In 2014 he founded the Invictus Games, a multi-sport event for wounded or ill armed services personnel.

The renovations at Frogmore Cottage involved turning five properties back into a single home for the royal couple and their baby son Archie - though all the fixtures and fittings were paid for privately by the duke and duchess.