Queen reveals the royal expenses

Queen Elizabeth II is expected to pay for the upkeep of the occupied palaces using money she is paid from the Sovereign Grant. Photo / Getty

The Queen spent £13.3 million on property maintenance in the 2013-14 financial year, with utility bills adding another £3.3 million.

But the hefty repair bill is only a fraction of what needs to be spent to clear a backlog of urgent renovations to Buckingham Palace and other buildings.

In the 80s prudent spending enabled the Royal household to build up a considerable cash reserve that could be used for building maintenance, but under Labour, royal finances were frozen and the reserves were used up.

It led to a £50 million backlog of repairs to the royal palaces, with 40 per cent of buildings classed as "below target condition".

Recent work on the palaces has included a £3.4 million refurbishment of Apartment 1A at Kensington Palace, the London home of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, £900,000 for renewal of the lead roofing of the Royal Library at Windsor Castle and £800,000 for the removal of asbestos in the basement of Buckingham Palace.

Garden parties, tours and official entertaining at the palaces come to £2 million per year.

The Queen is expected to pay for the upkeep of the occupied palaces using money she is paid from the Sovereign Grant.

Although the Grant currently brings in £40 million, the Queen has other sources of income, such as renting out rooms in the palaces for corporate events. In the last financial year this brought in an additional £13.4 million.

Travel

The cost of official journeys undertaken by members of the Royal family is funded through the Sovereign Grant, as they are undertaken on behalf of the nation and so are paid for by taxpayers.

The Royal family's vehicles include a helicopter, the royal train, and a fleet of cars worth millions of pounds, ranging from classic Rolls-Royces to the latest Jaguars and Range Rovers.

On foreign tours, the Royal family uses a mixture of scheduled and charter aircraft. In 2013-14, the royal travel bill was £4.2million.

Royal household staff

The single biggest drain on the Queen's resources is the wage bill for her 431 Royal household staff.

Last year payroll costs were £18.2 million, which the Queen pays from her Sovereign Grant money, together with £1.3 million in "other staff costs" such as uniforms and expenses. The staff earn an average of £32,733, with the highest-paid member,

Sir Alan Reid, the Keeper of the Privy Purse, receiving £190,000, plus £33,000 in pension payments.

Sir Christopher Geidt, the Queen's private secretary, was paid £155,000 plus £23,000 in pension payments.

Members of the Royal family

Other members of the Royal family are a further drain on the Queen's resources.

As well as supporting herself and the Duke of Edinburgh, the Queen must pay the living costs of others who carry out official duties, including the Princess Royal, the Duke of York, and the Earl and Countess of Wessex.

These costs are met mainly through the Queen's income from the Duchy of Lancaster, a portfolio of land, property and assets held in trust.

The rural estate consists of 45,000 acres of land, mainly in Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cheshire, Staffordshire and Lincolnshire. The commercial property portfolio is centred round the Savoy precinct off the Strand in central London.

Last year, the Duchy paid £12.5million to the Privy Purse, the Queen's official finances.

The Queen has a third source of funds to pay her personal expenses, a private income from her personal investment portfolio plus the Sandringham and Balmoral estates, inherited from her father. How much she earns from these is unknown.

The Prince of Wales and his immediate family are self-funded through his Duchy of Cornwall estate.