Each year the Royal Family carries out almost 3,000 official engagements around the United Kingdom and overseas.

The Royal Household receives annual funding to meet the costs of official travel through the Department of Transport. The majority of Royal Travel expenditure pays for The Queen’s helicopter and charter and scheduled fix-wing aircraft.

A separate grant is voted by Parliament each year, through the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, to cover the upkeep of the Royal residences. These are: Buckingham Palace, St James’s Palace, Clarence House, Marlborough House Mews, the residential and office areas of Kensington Palace, Windsor Castle and the buildings in the Home and Great Parks at Windsor, and Hampton Court Mews and Paddocks, as well as The Queen’s Gallery.

The money is used to meet the cost of maintenance and some utilities.