The 'cost' of England's Queen Elizabeth II

Jun 28, 2006, 17:18 GMT

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II 'costs' taxpayers 62p a year each - a new report has revealed.

The Queen's financial public accounts - published yesterday (27.06.06) - also state the annual 'cost' of the monarch has risen by 4%, and now stands at the total of £37.4 million.

According to BBC website, the increase has been blamed on additional security, employed by Buckingham Palace, following a line of safety breaches.

In 2003, a comedian - dressed as Islamic fundamentalist Osama Bin Laden - managed to illegally enter Prince William's 21st birthday party by climbing a palace fence.

In January this year, a tabloid reporter managed to obtain a job as a footman at Buckingham Palace, by using fake references.

Apart from security expenses, providing public information and long-haul overseas royal visits were stated as other reason for the increase in royal spending.

Alan Reid, royal financial spokesman, jokingly compared yesterday's news to the on-going football World Cup.

He was quoted as saying: 'Given this is a World Cup year, 62p would buy you a ticket for one minute of England's game against Portugal on Saturday.'

Yesterday, a similar report revealed that Britain's Prince Charles earns £14 million a year and pays £3 million in tax.

The Prince of Wales revealed his financial situation for the first time ever - in a bid to become more 'transparent and open' about the Palace's spending.

According to the report, the heir to the British throne had his income increased by £800,000 last year, while his tax only saw an increase of £33,000.

Meanwhile, Charles' wife - Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla Parker Bowles - was said to only 'cost' taxpayers £2,000 a year.

The low 'maintenance' cost of the heir's spouse was explained with minimal spending.

He said: 'She lives in houses that are already there, she travels with the prince and I think there have only been three occasions when she has travelled on her own, at a cost of around £2,000.'

Copyright 2006 BANG Media International