Britain's Royal Family continues to pare its household accounts, with the Queen chopping champagne off the grocery list and substituting it with Californian sparkling wine for official receptions.
The newly released accounts reveal that though the wine bill has been slashed by £7,000 to £90,000, and the monarchy costs half what it did ten years ago to maintain, the Queen is holding onto her ageing nine-coach royal train for the estimated 15 years of life it still has.
Though it is, at £54 a mile, more expensive to maintain than other forms of royal travel, it is often more practical and convenient for the 77-year-old Queen and her 82-year-old husband Prince Philip. The couple, who lost their royal yacht Britannia six years ago, keep to a busy calendar of public engagements that would be gruelling for many people of their age.
As one senior official pointed out, "It would be daft to pretend that the train is the cheapest form of travel, but there are times when it is the most appropriate." The train was particularly useful last year, when the Queen travelled the length and breadth of the country as part of her Golden Jubilee celebrations.
On a more domestic note, it has been made clear that the Queen will not be footing the bill for redecoration of the suite allotted to Camilla Parker Bowles in Clarence House, which is currently being refitted as the Prince of Wales's residence. The £4.4-million refurbishment, its first since 1947, is being paid out of public money, but costs for Mrs Parker Bowles's apartment are expected to be met by her companion, Prince Charles.
Keeping the Royal Family currently costs £36.2 million per annum, which works out at around 60p per person in Britain.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
