Cost of Royal family engagements over the last year increases by £300,000 to £4.2m despite appearances being scaled back after the King and Princess of Wales' cancer diagnosis

The royals cut back on engagements last year amid the illness of the King and the Princess of Wales - but the cost of them went up by £300,000, official accounts reveal.

Royal engagements racked up a £4.2million bill despite there being nearly 400 fewer visits and less foreign travel.

The royals still managed to attend 2,327 events, but this was down from 2,710 the previous year.

Despite the number of trips dropping by 15 per cent, costs of engagements actually increased by 8 per cent overall.

A royal source put this down to double-digit inflationary pressure that have impacted on goods and services in the last 12 months.

The cost of the French State Visit should also have fallen in the previous financial year but was deferred due to the political situation across the Channel, they added.

His Majesty undertook 464 official engagements, down from 565 last year, with the Queen performing 201 of which 103 were joint.

They also made fewer foreign trips, perhaps reflecting a need to stay closer to home due to illness.

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).

The annual Sovereign Grant report detailing how the monarchy is funded by taxpayers reveals that the Coronation cost the Palace £800,000.

Meanwhile the Palace generated £19.8million in income - over double that of the previous year as finances recovered to pre-Covid levels.

Sir Michael Stevens, Keeper of the Privy Purse, said Buckingham Palace ‘was at the heart of so many key events’ during this coronation year as he reflected on that day.

‘It was a glorious moment in our national story and a source of unity and pride after uncertain times for many at home and abroad,’ he said.

But Sir Michael, who is set to retire this year, said while this was ‘the high point’ there were ‘also moment of personal challenge’ with the illnesses of Charles and Kate.

‘In the early part of 2024 came the sad news that both His Majesty The King and The Princess of Wales would be withdrawing from public-facing duties temporarily, to prioritise their treatment and recovery from cancer,’ he said.

‘This inevitably impacted on the number and nature of engagements that had been planned.’

Some 138,303 correspondence were sent to Buckingham Palace last year, with 31,311 relating to the Coronation and 27,620 well wishes for the King’s illness.

The Royal Household welcomed 105,900 guests at 400 official events.

Despite finances improving the royals dipped into the Sovereign Grant Reserve - which is now down to £5.5million for £10.1million - mainly to cover the Buckingham Palace refurbishment.

The National Audit Office says Household’s risk management of the 10-year, £369million project ‘should set it up to deliver good value for money’ - but it cautioned ‘risks remain’.