The royal family made few foreign trips in the year to March 2024, perhaps reflecting a need to stay closer to home during a period in which both the King and the Princess of Wales spent time in hospital for cancer treatment.
There are 27 separate journeys by royal family members listed in the official report for 2023/24 where travel costs were at least £17,000, only eight of which involved the King.
This includes the most expensive trip in the 12 months to March 2024, the five-day state visit by the King and Queen to Kenya in October and November 2023, which had travel costs totalling £166,557.
The King was also involved in the second and third most expensive trips on the list: a three-day state visit to France with the Queen in September 2023 (£117,942) and a solo two-day journey on the royal train in June 2023 to Pickering in North Yorkshire, to mark the centenary of the Flying Scotsman (£52,013).
Of the five other journeys mentioned in the report that involved the King, the cost is given for four of them:
– A two-day trip to Northern Ireland with the Queen, by plane, in May 2023 (£32,976);
– A day trip to Liverpool with the Queen, by plane, ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest in April 2023 (£23,596);
– A flight from Aberdeen to Farnborough in September 2023, returning to a royal residence (£22,248);
– A flight from Aberdeen to Northolt in October 2023, to attend a reception in London for leaders of African nations (£22,208).
The travel costs of the King’s eighth and final journey on the list, a three-day visit to Dubai in November and December 2023 to attend the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28), is not disclosed, as it was funded by the Foreign Office.
The most expensive trip not involving the King was a six-day visit by the Princess Royal to Sri Lanka in January 2024, undertaken on behalf of the Foreign Office, with travel costs of £48,112.
Aside from the visits to Kenya, France, Dubai and Sri Lanka, the only other journeys outside the UK to feature on the list are:
– A day trip by the Prince of Wales to Kuwait in December 2023, to pay condolences after the death of Emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah (£41,597);
– A two-day visit to Marseille in France by the Prince and Princess of Wales in October 2023, to watch the quarter-final of the Rugby World Cup (£30,975);
– A three-day trip by the Princess Royal to Johannesburg in South Africa in February 2024, to attend the state funeral of the former president of Namibia (funded by the Foreign Office);
– A five-day visit by the Prince of Wales to Singapore in November 2023, to attend the Earthshot Prize ceremony (funded by Earthshot).
Seven of the 27 royal trips listed in the report were carried out by the Princess Royal, four were undertaken by the King, and four involved the King and Queen together.
Three trips were carried out by the Prince of Wales, with a further three by the Prince and Princess of Wales together.
Two trips involved the Duke of Edinburgh, one the Duchess of Edinburgh, one the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh together and one the Duke of Kent.
The Queen appears by herself just once on the list, for the solo trip she made to the Isle of Man and Belfast in March 2024.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel