Kate Middleton’s Flight From Kensington Palace To Norfolk Cost Taxpayers Over $4,000

Kate Middleton was pictured getting ready to board a flight from Kensington Palace, the family’s London abode, to her country home of Anmer Hall in Norfolk. The British royal’s return trip cost the country a whopping £3,000 ($4,356). The very next day Queen Elizabeth II took the train from Norfolk to London, which cost only £54.90.

Kate's trip back home was reportedly 110 miles and lasted 45 minutes each way to the queen’s Sandringham Estate in Norfolk on Feb. 7. The 34-year-old royal took the Queen’s Flight - used by the royal family members on official engagements.

It is paid for from money given to the queen by the British government to fund her official duties as head of state. The flight landed at Kensington Palace, Kate and Prince William’s London residence, allowing her time to change into an Alexander McQueen coat and Lock & Co hat before heading to an engagement.

The burgundy helicopter was then seen taking off again in the pictures after the event had ended at 1pm, with Kate having changed into a more casual outfit for traveling. She took the chopper to facilitate an engagement to mark the 75th anniversary of the Air Training Corps, her first engagement as its Honorary Air Commandant in London. The decision to fly into Kensington Palace is not unusual as most royal flights use an area behind the palace, known as Perks Field, as a landing pad.

According to Buckingham Palace’s visits committee, royals are permitted to take flights between residences, although the queen regularly chooses to travel to and from Sandringham by train. “The Royal Household makes careful decision about transport plans and always seeks to travel in the most appropriate way possible considering the arrangement for an official engagement,” said a Kensington Palace spokesperson.

Meanwhile, the 89-year-old queen returned to London from Norfolk on Feb. 8 after an extended Christmas holiday at her Sandringham estate. But she preferred to travel by train from Kings Lynn to Kings Cross in the first class carriage on the 10.54 a.m. service.