King scraps Royal Train as full cost of monarchy and family is revealed
King scraps Royal Train as full cost of monarchy and family is revealed
New figures show how much the Royal Family cost last year - with prices for helicopter travel, foreign visits and running households
Charles arrives on the Royal Train, pulled by a steam locomotive at Cardiff Central Rail Station
The King is bidding the 'fondest of farewells' to the royal train after approving its decommissioning following decades of service. Charles and other members of the royal family will rely on two new helicopters when the nine-carriage train stops running ahead of a maintenance contract ending in early 2027, according to the annual royal accounts.
James Chalmers, Keeper of the Privy Purse, described the move as an example of the royal household applying 'fiscal discipline' in its drive to deliver 'value for money'. The annual accounts showed the Sovereign Grant, which supports the official duties of the royal family, will remain for a fourth consecutive year at £86.3 million, while royal travel increased by £500,000 to £4.7 million and payroll costs were up £2 million to £29.9 million.
The King is said to have fond memories of the train, which features a carriage created for Charles in the mid-1980s which he still uses now he is King, and the Prince of Wales is aware and supports the decommissioning decision. Mr Chalmers said: 'The royal train, of course, has been part of national life for many decades, loved and cared for by all those involved.
'But in moving forward we must not be bound by the past. Just as so many parts of the royal household's work have been modernised and adapted to reflect the world of today, so too, the time has come to bid the fondest of farewells, as we seek to be disciplined and forward-looking in our allocation of funding.
'With His Majesty's support it has therefore been decided that the process to decommission the royal train will commence next year.'
The rundown of royal finances – from April 1 2024 to March 31 2025 – covers the months following the King and the Princess of Wales's double cancer diagnosis and the majority of 2024 – the year described by the Prince of Wales as 'brutal' and probably the hardest of his life.
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Charles made a rapid return to public-facing duties in April, while Kate made a more gradual one after revealing in September she had finished her chemotherapy treatment, and later confirmed at the start of 2025 that she was cancer free. Mr Chalmers said that after returning to public-facing duties in April 2024, the King '… demonstrated remarkable resilience by undertaking a wide programme of public and state duties at home and overseas while continuing to receive treatment, demonstrating not only His Majesty's personal commitment to duty but also the adaptability and resilience of the royal household in ensuring continuity of service, no matter the personal circumstances'.
Accounts were also released for William's Duchy of Cornwall, which provides him with a private income of nearly £23 million and has launched a policy review of the rents it receives from charities and grassroots community groups. The royal train was a favourite of Queen Elizabeth II and the late Duke of Edinburgh and was decorated and furnished to meet the needs of senior royals, and in 2020 William and Kate made a 1,250-mile train journey over three days to thank key and frontline workers and communities for their efforts during the pandemic.
The annual accounts state the decision was taken for a number of reasons including the cost of storing and maintaining the train against its level of use, significant investment was needed to keep the train in use beyond 2027 and the new helicopters were reliable alternatives. Mr Chalmers said: 'Before it finally goes out of service, it is our hope that the train will make further visits to parts of the UK, while discussions will begin on finding a long-term home where some particularly historic elements might go on public display.'
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's former home, Frogmore Cottage, remains empty for a second year after they officially vacated the property in 2023. It is understood their are no immediate plans for Harry and Meghan's UK base, a gift from Queen Elizabeth II close to Windsor Castle, that they were asked to leave just weeks after the duke criticised his family in his controversial memoir Spare.
The £86.3 million Sovereign Grant comprises £51.8 million for the core elements like travel and payroll costs and £34.5 million to fund the Buckingham Palace Reservicing Programme. Workers are eight years into the decade-long reservicing initiative costing £369 million to improve fire and safety and replace heating and electrics, which is said to be on track and has updated the palace's east wing where the royal family watch major events from the balcony.
State banquets will move from the palace's ballroom to Windsor Castle for the next two years as work progresses and the lavish state rooms will come off and then online as contractors complete the final two years, expected to cost £100 million of the total.
Among the green initiatives highlighted by the Sovereign Grant accounts is the conversion of the first of two official Bentley's to run on bio-fuel with the second transitioning this year, increased use of sustainable aviation fuel for royal flights, including for helicopter travel, and 84% of royal household waste is now recycled.
Mr Chalmers added: 'The Grant has been supplemented by £21.5 million in additional income, up £1.7 million on last year, reflecting, among other factors, a record number of visitors to the Buckingham Palace Summer Opening as part of our continued drive to widen access to, and enjoyment of, the Occupied Royal Residences.'
The grant is 12% of Crown Estate profits which for the second year running have reached £1.1 billion due to record offshore wind farm profits, meaning in the 2026-27 financial year the grant will be £132 million – extra funding that will be used to complete the reservicing work.
Graham Smith, chief executive officer of Republic, called on the Government to take responsibility for reporting the costs of the monarchy. He said: 'The Irish president costs around £5 million a year. The cost of the monarchy could be slashed to well below £10 million.
'It's time the Duchies were taken off royal hands, and it's time these figures were released by Government to parliament, where they can be properly scrutinised.'
How much does the royal family cost? A breakdown of the key figures
– £132 million – The amount of Sovereign Grant the monarchy will receive in two years' time in 2026/27 because of the £1.1 billion Crown Estate wind farm deal profits.
– £91.4 million – Extra income the monarchy is receiving over the next two years (2025-26 and 2026-27).
– £86.3 million – The total taxpayer-funded Sovereign Grant in 2024-25, the same as the previous year.
– £85.2 million – Official net expenditure by the monarchy, a fall of £3.9 million or 4% from £89.1 million in 2023/2024.
– £41.2 million – Cost of property maintenance, compared with £47 million the previous year.
– £4.7 million – Cost of official royal travel, a rise of £500,000 from £4.2 million the previous year.
– £475,000 – Cost of 141 helicopter journeys made by members of the royal family, costing less than £17,000 each.
– £400,500 – The most expensive journey – the King and Queen's charter flight to Samoa and thena scheduled flight back to London.
– £80,100 – Cost of the King and Queen's charter flight to and from Belfast and helicopters around Northern Ireland in March.
– £3.2 million – Cost of housekeeping and hospitality for the Royal Household, up £600,000 from £2.6 million.
– 539 – Full-time equivalent staff paid for from the Sovereign Grant, including fixed term contracts, compared with 523 the previous year.
– £29.9 million – The wage bill for staff, up £2 million from £27.9 million.
– 123,000 – Total number of correspondence received by the Royal Household, including 41,000 with well-wishes for the King and the Princess of Wales.
– £605,000 – The cost of landscaping the East Terrace Garden at Windsor Castle with a new flowing pathway for the public, more biodiverse flower beds and two orchards.
– 1,900 – Official engagements by members of the royal family in the UK and overseas, compared with 2,300 last year.
– 93,000 guests attended 828 events at official Royal Palaces
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– 12.1% – Proportion of staff from ethnic minority backgrounds working for Buckingham Palace, compared with 11.4% in 2023-2024. The target is 14% by December 2025.
– £21.5 million – Income earned to supplement the Sovereign Grant – an increase of £1.7 million or nearly 9% from £19.8 million last year, driven by record visitors to Buckingham Palace during the Summer Opening to see the newly opened East Wing.
– £22.9 million – The Prince of Wales's annual private income from the Duchy of Cornwall estate, down £700,000 from £23.6 million the previous year.
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