Queen Elizabeth, Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle, Other Royals’ Excessive Expenses Revealed

Queen Elizabeth II, Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and other royals’ excessive spending revealed.

The annual royal account has been released and it showed some of the expenses of the royals in 2018. Last year, the royal family only used $85 million from the $104.78 million they received from the Sovereign Grant. The rest was put in a reserve fund to pay for future refurbishment at Buckingham Palace, Express reported.

Among the major spending was the resurfacing of the drive at Kensington Palace where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge live. It reportedly cost $1.27 million. Queen Elizabeth II also spent about $892, 276 on new central heating in the private apartments of the Queen and other family members at Windsor Castle.

Queen Elizabeth also spent $37875.84 for a one-way train when she visited Cheshire in June last year with Markle. The monarch also paid for Markle’s private charter jet to fly there. It is not clear how much the Queen’s return journey cost.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Frogmore Cottage renovation cost $3.05 million and it was paid using public funds. However, Prince Harry and Markle paid for their own furniture and interior decoration.

Palace sources said that the major work undertaken was the removal and replacement of defective ceiling beams and defective floor joists. The source described the heating systems “outdated and inefficient” and not up to modern standards, Town & Country reported.

The reports about a yoga studio on the property were said to be incorrect and the only “floating floor” was a specific requirement from the planners and it involved the main kitchen area.

“The building was returned to a single residence, and outdated infrastructure was replaced to guarantee the long-term future of the property. Substantially all fixtures and fittings were paid for by their royal highnesses,” the Queen’s Treasurer, Sir Michael Stevens said.

On the other hand, Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles had the most expensive official foreign trip during their tour to the Caribbean where they visited Cuba. The cost of the trip was reportedly $531,001 while their tour to West Africa in the autumn cost $275,728.