Queen and royals cost 66p per person

The Queen and the Royal Family cost the taxpayer 66p per person last year - an increase of 4p, Buckingham Palace accounts revealed today.

The total cost of keeping the monarchy in the year to 31 March increased by £2m to £40m, royal accountants said.

The amount spent on official royal travel rose, as did the Queen's Civil List - funds used to cover the cost of the monarch's official duties as head of state.

But Palace officials highlighted for the second year running the backlog of essential maintenance projects that need to be carried out to royal palaces.

Sir Alan Reid, Keeper of the Privy Purse, said: "Expenditure on royal travel, which will vary from year to year, also increased in response to the number of overseas visits undertaken at the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and UK Trade and Investment.

"During the current year, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport confirmed that the grant-in-aid for the maintenance of the palaces would remain at £15 million per annum for at least the next three years.

"With no increase in funding for 12 years, the backlog in essential maintenance projects has continued to grow. In the absence of any increase of funding, the backlog of work is estimated at £32 million in today's money."