The price of blue blood: How the Royals are minting it

They have promised a sleeker, more efficient Royal operation, but accounts released yesterday reveal that the taxpayer is continuing to foot an escalating bill for the services of The Firm.

The Royal Family received £37.4m from the public purse last year - an increase of 4.2 per cent from the previous year.

Pressure increased last night on the Queen, whose private wealth is estimated to be £2bn, to open the financial books still further by revealing the tax she voluntarily pays to the Treasury, just days after Prince Charles set a precedent by revealing his tax secrets.

For the first time, the Prince of Wales acknowledged that he pays £3.3m in tax. The Queen agreed to pay tax when John Major was Prime Minister, but the amount she pays remains firmly under wraps. "We take a strong view that the Queen's private finances are, like any other individual, private and she is entitled to have her privacy," said one senior Palace aide.

The Queen receives £11.2m from the civil list for public duties as head of state and for staff costs. The royal accounts gave no details about her private income from estates such as Sandringham, but focused on expenditure by the Royal Family on public duties in this country and abroad, and on the upkeep of the royal palaces.

The cost of royal flights also increased by £600,000, to a total bill of £4.6m, despite criticism last year of costs generated by some members of the Royal Family, including Prince Andrew's use of helicopters.

Alan Reid, the Keeper of the Privy Purse, who presented the accounts, said: "Our key aim is not to try and achieve a low-cost monarchy. What we are really doing is providing a high-quality, very efficient, very professional, value-for-money monarchy.

"Head of State expenditure is 62p per person in the country. That is not the daily or monthly cost - it is the annual cost of the monarchy."

Today, Downing Street will try to defuse the criticism over royal flights by confirming reports that Tony Blair will lease two jets to replace the ageing RAF planes which are used to fly members of the Royal Family and the Cabinet, as recommended in a review by Sir Peter Gershon.

Buckingham Palace officials said the Queen would have priority on the planes before ministers, but rules for other members of the Royal Family are being worked out. They added that the increasing unreliability of the 26-seat BAe 146 and seven-seat HS 125 jets operated by the RAF 32 Squadron - known as the Queen's Flight - underlined the need for new planes.

A breakdown in one of the aircraft was blamed for another expensive trip by Prince Andrew, who was heavily criticised last year for using the RAF to fly him to Scotland when he was captain of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club. He chartered a private jet for a return trip from the Isle of Man to Scotland at a cost of £11,555. He paid £155 out of his own pocket towards the bill, the rest of which was picked up by the taxpayer.

Palace officials also disclosed they are to press Tessa Jowell, the Culture Secretary, for an increase of £1m plus inflation per year in the £15m budget for palace maintenance, warning that some of the historic buildings are in a bad state of repair.

An aide disclosed that English Heritage was about to put the Victoria and Albert Mausoleum at Windsor Castle onto the list of buildings at risk. It will cost £2m to restore, he said. The roof of the royal picture gallery at Buckingham Palace also needs urgently replacing. It is currently being patched up.

"We quite understand the Government's dilemma. They have lots of priorities, but we think we have shown a good track record on our housekeeping. It would not mean a huge increase in their budget," the official added.

He said efforts were made to increase revenue from opening palaces to the public, but that the entrance fees could not be raised. "We also have to be avoid being over-commercialised because, at the end of the day, this is the head of state's residence," he said.

Staff £8.2m

The Queen employs a total of 310 staff at the palaces. Total payroll cost: £8.2m a year paid for by the taxpayer on the civil list.

The number of staff has gone up slightly from 307 in 2004. The household staff total 176. Three extra staff had to be hired to handle freedom of information inquiries, even though the palace is exempt from the law.

Staff numbers include 36 at Buckingham Palace and St James's Palace, and 21 at Kensington palace, Hampton Court and Windsor Castle maintenance office. There are 15 craftsmen carrying out repairs to the historic buildings who cost about £500,000 a year. Palace gardeners cost £400,000 a year.

About £300,000 was paid in overtime, the same as the previous year, arising from attendance at evening receptions and weekend working when the palace state apartments are open to the public. Perks include some live-in accommodation, attractive surroundings to work in, and Palace officials said the royal swimming pool at Buckingham Palace may be made available to them. Staff may also use the police gym at Buckingham Palace.

Alan Reid, 58, the Keeper of the Privy Purse, is the highest paid member of the Queen's staff with a salary of £182,000 a year - an increase of £10,000 a year on 2004. He also has an amount equal to 17.5 per cent of his salary paid into his private pension scheme. Sir Robin Janvin, 59, the Queen's Private Secretary, receives £167,000 a year - an increase from £156,000 a year and an annual pension of £39,000 with a lump sum pension worth £118,000.

Buildings & Palaces £15.7m

Six royal palaces and other buildings and gardens such as the Royal Mews and the Great Parks at Windsor cost £15.7m to keep up - an increase of £700,000 on the previous year. This was partly offset by revenue from entrance charges on open days totalling £1.4m - a rise of £300,000.

The taxpayer pays £15m a year towards the upkeep of the palaces as historic buildings. Palace officials revealed they are seeking a £1m a year increase, plus inflation, in the grant supplied by Tessa Jowell, the Culture Secretary, because many of the buildings are in urgent need of repairs.

English Heritage is about to add the Victoria and Albert Mausoleum at Frogmore House, Windsor, to the list of buildings at risk. It will cost £2m to restore. It was built by Queen Victoria at her own expense after the death of Prince Albert from typhoid at Windsor Castle and was completed in 1871. It is sumptuously decorated inside with inlays of coloured marble from the UK, Italy, Greece, France, Portugal (Emperor's Red), Africa and North America.

The roof of the Royal Picture Gallery at Buckingham Palace also needs replacing urgently. It is currently being patched up. "There was also asbestos which needs clearing all over and a two-acre lead roof at Windsor Castle which we've been patching that needs work," said a senior aide. "The quadrangle at Buckingham Palace needs to be completely cleared up."

The total cost of running Buckingham Palace rose by £700,000 to £5.9m for the year. The mews and gardens cost an extra £1.5m. St James's Palace cost £1.5m and Clarence House £300,000. Windsor Castle cost £3.8m but the home and Great Parks cost an extra £1m. A memorial to the Queen Mother is being built in The Mall and financed by the sale of a coin marking the Queen's 80th birthday.

Garden Parties £600,000

Five garden parties were held at Buckingham Palace and the Palace of Holyroodhouse attended by 31,000 people from town mayors, clergymen and councillors to the armed services, voluntary workers, award winners and celebrities. The cost of the garden parties is borne by the taxpayer on the Civil List. They cost £600,000 last year compared with £500,000 the year before. Food and kitchens costs were £400,000 but the total cost of catering and hospitality for the royal palaces was £1.4m including state banquets and the Queen has wine - in cellars to age - worth more than £400,000.

Last year the Palace complained that on average guests took 14 items from the buffet at the garden parties. This year the caterers put out larger items to try to cut down the number of sandwiches, cakes, pastries and strawberries, but they still took on average 14 items. The total cost of keeping up the gardens and the mews where the Queen's carriages are kept was £400,000.

Travel - trains, planes & cars £5.5m

A total of £5.5m was spent by the Royal Family on travel - an increase of 10 per cent - that is met by the taxpayer as grant in aid. The cost of royal flights also increased by £600,000 to a total bill of £4.6m, in spite of criticism of the cost of air travel last year by some members of the Royal Family, including Prince Andrew's use of helicopters.

The Royal Family has a fleet of private jets at their disposal operated by RAF 32 Squadron comprising two 26-seat BAe 146 planes and five seven-seat HS 125s. They are also used by Tony Blair and members of the Cabinet.

The mileage cost was £13 for air travel and £41 for rail travel. The Royal Train cost £600,000 last year and was used on 14 occasions - five fewer than the year before.

That means the average cost of each train journey was £43,000. The average distance travelled was 700 miles, but some journeys were shorter, raising fresh questions about its future. The Palace said the train, comprising five to eight coaches, enabled the Royal Family "to carry out busy schedules over an extended period in a secure environment which minimises disruption". It was offered to members of the Cabinet but no one took up the offer. More use was also made of scheduled train services by members of the Royal Family, who made 48 journeys on public services. Journeys costing less than £10,000 were not listed for the first time. That cut down detail on trips disclosed in the accounts.

The Queen

Royal Train - Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh Perth to Windsor on 6-7 July last year after hosting G8 dinner . Cost: £28,913.

Euston to Perth 22-24 June Euston to Perth return. Cost: £31,927.

Charter flights - Charter flight to Australia and Singapore 10-18 March. Cost: £478,627. Queen paid £199,588.

The Queen used the royal helicopter and flight BAe 146 to travel every day to Royal Ascot last June when it moved to York temporarily. Cost: £11,950.

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall

Royal Train - Kemble, Gloucestershire, last July and on to Carmarthen, Neath and Machynlleth in Wales. Cost: £37,033.

13-14 September from Euston to Northallerton to visit the Northern Dales Farmers' Market. Cost: £18,603.

Charter flights - Egypt, Saudi Arabia and India in March. Cost: £304,000.

America last November - Camilla's first overseas tour. Cost: £280,186.

Chartered helicopter - Colne in Lancashire to Buckingham Palace last October. Cost: £7,849

Prince Andrew, Duke of York

Chartered flights: round trip from the Isle of Man to Scotland for a meeting of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club for the "driving-in" ceremony for the new golf club captain on 21-22 September last year. Cost: £11,555. Prince Andrew chartered a private jet to take him after the RAF plane broke down. He paid £155 out of his own pocket towards the cost.

Prince Edward, the Earl and Countess of Wessex

Chartered flights - Sullom Ve terminal in Shetland and return to Farnborough on 7-8 September last year. Cost: £11,403.

Princess Anne, the Princess Royal

Chartered flights - Beijing on a scheduled flight on 19 September. Cost: £26,763. BAe 146 from Beijing to East Timor and Papua New Guinea. Cost: £127,011.

Recces: It cost a total of £44,885 for the staff of the Prince of Wales to fly to the United States on various dates last year before his visit.

What we don't know

The Queen's total wealth is probably more than £2bn, making her the richest woman in Britain, but it is not known how much she pays in tax. She agreed to pay tax under an agreement reached with John Major's government, but it has never been disclosed how much is paid and on what. The Prince of Wales this week revealed he paid £3.3m in tax. But the Palace yesterday insisted that the Queen is "entitled to her privacy" and had no plans to detail her tax expenditure either now or in the future.

The Palace accounts published yesterday do not mention her private wealth. That includes 50,000 acres of woodlands and castle at the Balmoral Estate in Scotland; and the Sandringham Estate incorporating many tenanted houses. The real estate is estimated to be worth more than £200m. The Monarch also has private investments worth £520m. Jewellery said to be worth £130m and an art collection conservatively estimated at £1bn.

Her private income is in part generated from the Duchy of Lancaster estates, held in trust for the Sovereign since 1399. Worth: £308m. Gross income: £13 m.

As head of state, the Queen holds the Crown Estates, worth £700m covering 260,000 acres. The Queen pays for members of the Royal Family on the Civil List. Revenue from the Crown Estates totalling £184.8m goes to the Treasury.

What the accounts cover

Expenditure from the Civil List - Parliament funds the monarchy for public duties with the Civil List, which is worth £11.2m. About 70 per cent goes on staff, but it also pays for garden parties and state banquets.

Government grants - Department of Culture provides an extra £15m a year for the upkeep of the royal palaces. The Palace is now seeking an increase of £1m plus inflation a year.