Prince Charles costs taxpayers more

Britain's Prince Charles was given over £3million in Government grants and expenses in the past year.The astonishing figure is almost a quarter more than the previous year - rising from under £2.5 million - with his rocketing travelling costs cited as the main reason.The bill for journeys of more than 50,000 miles rose from £1,157,000 to £1,710,000, with £1 million spent on just two long-haul trips by private jet - one to Japan, Brunei and Indonesia in November and one to South America earlier this year.Charles' private secretary Sir Michael Peat defended the rise - insisting the prince is "busier than ever" with his rainforest and climate change campaigning. Sir Michael said: "While many people would be slowing down, he seems to be going faster and faster. It's easy to underestimate the importance and success of these tours." A spokesperson for the prince - who carried out 658 official engagements last year - added: "The foreign tours carried out are done so at the request of the Foreign Office."Meanwhile, Charles' Duchy of Cornwall estate - from which he gets a private income - saw his return rise by £185, 000 to nearly £16.5 million. His official expenditure rose by nearly a fifth from £10,451,000 to £12,513,000.Charles and wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, managed to save £500, 000 by shunning parties, holidaying in the UK and slashing expenses such as their cleaning bill - which dropped by £27, 000 to £105, 000.Sir Michael said: "We are very conscious of the recession and we are by no means immune to it. "It's a recession and we have to say that we've looked at all costs very carefully. The Duchy of Cornwall is a ship built to sail in all weather. We are not suffering any particular bust at the moment."

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KennethJun 24th, 2009 - 22:15:24

If it's at the request of the government then he shouldn't have to pay for his travels so I'm okay with it. He could probably fly cheaper, but it would make the UK look lame if we send those that represent us on the cheap.

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DmitryJun 25th, 2009 - 11:35:31

The headline is misleading. Charles, or the Duchy, applied for and received such grants and allowances from the government as any person could apply for. It wasn't 'given' to him, as the headline suggests.

It is rather like tax deductions. If there are deductions that are available to everyone who pays taxes, then anyone can claim such if they qualify for that particular deduction.

If Mr. Smith applied for grants and so forth, no one would question.

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Mike BrownJun 27th, 2009 - 20:39:52

He’s coming to Scilly on Thursday 2nd July, as a duchy tenant I’ve been invited to the district tea. I’ve turned it down and put the invite on Ebay to raise money for the Cornwall Air ambulance. I’d prefer it if he didn’t come and made a donation too.
100% of this auction will go to the Cornwall Air Ambulance so please make a bid and help raise money for a worthy cause. Ebay item number 130314958893

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