The Royal Family's annual accounts for 2025/26 have disclosed significant expenditures, including 177 helicopter journeys costing £733,063 and total travel expenses of £3,316,024. The report, published on Friday, details outgoings over the 12 months to March 2026, highlighting 37 separate journeys with costs of at least £20,000 each.
Key Travel Expenditures
The Prince of Wales's official three-day visit to Saudi Arabia in February 2026 was the most expensive trip, costing £130,106. This included two additional planning trips by staff. The King and Queen's four-day state visit to Italy in April 2025 came second at £126,946.
Other notable trips include the Prince of Wales's two-day visit to Belem, Brazil for the Cop30 climate summit in November 2025 (£78,542), and the King and Queen's visit to the Vatican City in October 2025 (£75,371). The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh's seven-day visit to Papua New Guinea and Japan in September 2025 cost £70,541.
Royal Train and Domestic Travel
Four royal train journeys were undertaken: Lancaster in June 2025 (£48,460), Staffordshire in October 2025 (£34,109), Dartmouth in December 2025 (£37,466), and Clitheroe in February 2026 (£40,738). The royal train is scheduled to be decommissioned by 2027 to save costs.
Of the 37 recorded journeys, 13 involved the King, and 11 were within the UK. The Princess Royal undertook 10 trips, the Prince of Wales four (including one with the Princess of Wales), and the Duke of Edinburgh three.
International Travel Breakdown
Other international trips listed include the Princess Royal's visit to Turkey in April 2025 (£48,090), the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester's visit to Denmark in May 2025 (£35,817), the Duke of Edinburgh's trip to Rome in May 2025 for the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV (£23,295), the Duchess of Edinburgh's visit to Sarajevo in July 2025 (£25,776), the Princess Royal's visit to Ukraine in September-October 2025 (£28,081), and the Duchess of Edinburgh's 10-day visit to Peru, Panama, Guatemala, and Belize in November 2025 (£57,643).
A planning visit to the United States and Bermuda in late February and early March 2026, to prepare for the King and Queen's visit, cost £66,060. Spending on the actual US and Bermuda visit will appear in the 2026/27 report.
