The annual financial review covers the year to 31 March 2024 and covers King Charles’ first full year on the throne. Buckingham Palace writes in the report that the number of royal events has increased, despite health problems for King Charles and Princess Catherine. Both were diagnosed with cancer in 2024.
Despite Charles and Catherine’s illness, the British royal family spent more on travel than in the previous year. Travel costs amounted to £4.2m, compared with £3.9m the year before. Charles and Camilla’s state visits to Kenya and France were the most expensive trips, costing £167,000 and £123,000 respectively. Other expensive trips included Princess Anne’s visit to Sri Lanka (£48,000) and Prince William’s visit to Kuwait (£30,000).
The annual report also indicates how much mail the royal household received in 2023-2024. More than 138,000 pieces of mail were received. Of these, 31,311 concerned the coronation of Charles and Queen Camilla and more than 27,000 letters contained good health wishes for Charles and Catherine.
Buckingham Palace also reports that its workforce has improved in terms of diversity. The proportion of employees who are from an ethnic minority has increased from 9.7 to 11.4 percent, “a significant step” towards the target of 14 percent by 2025, according to the report.