King Charles and Queen Camilla wrapped up their biggest royal tour since taking the throne this weekend, with a bumper visit to Australia and Samoa covering more than 35 official engagements. 

But while the tour has been viewed largely as a success, it has raised the question that has often been asked over the years: is it right for the taxpayer to fund tours of this nature? 

Royal tours are funded by the Sovereign Grant, which is a yearly taxpayer-funded settlement via the Treasury. 

The Sovereign Grant — which, between 2022 and 2023, was worth £86.3million — is used mostly to fund the expenses of official royal duties, such as the tour. 

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The cost of this royal tour has not been made public yet, but the sheer number of personnel involved, travel, security and hospitality has estimates well over the £1million mark. 

This will all be funded by the Sovereign Grant, which is assigned by the Treasury each year based on profits coming in from the Crown Estate — a property business owned by the monarchy. 

The vast majority is spent on the upkeep of properties and staff costs.