King Charles axes beloved Royal Train as Royal Family's cost to taxpayer revealed

The King is to axe the late Queen Elizabeth’s beloved Royal Train after decades of service in an attempt to save cash towards the multimillion refit of Buckingham Palace. The locomotive steam train, comprising of nine claret liveried sleeper, dining and lounge carriages, was the Queen’s favourite mode of transport throughout her reign.

The current train came into service for the late monarch’s Silver Jubilee in 1977, pulled by one of two locomotives which use eco-conscious biofuel made from vegetable oil waste. Spiralling costs of the aging fleet - including two trips last year which cost a combined £78,000 - has led King Charles to bid the "fondest of farewells" after approving its decommissioning for next year.

The royals spent a total of £2.7million last year on travel by private jet, helicopters and rail, according to the annual royal accounts published today. One trip by the King and Queen to Australia and Samoa last October cost a staggering £400,000.

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As the royal train reaches the end of the line, ahead of the exorbitant maintenance contract ending in early 2027, accounts show Charles and other members of the royal family will rely on two new helicopters to get around - although palace aides stressed trains and other transport will be used.

The Sovereign Grant, which pays for the royal family's official duties and the upkeep of royal palaces, is met from public funds in exchange for the King's surrender of the revenue from the Crown Estate, in exchange for 12 per cent back to run their affairs including travel, engagements at home and abroad and welcoming tens of thousands of people to the royal palaces.

For the accounts last year, the royals cost the taxpayer £86.3 million for a fourth consecutive year. But record offshore wind farm profits have seen the Crown Estate net profits for the last financial year and hit £1.1 billion - meaning a record breaking Sovereign Grant of £132million will be handed out next year and the year after.

Palace aides say the extra cash will go towards paying for the £369million refit of Buckingham Palace and the upkeep of other royal residences.

James Chalmers, Keeper of the Privy Purse, said the axing of the Royal Train was an example of the royal household applying "fiscal discipline" in its drive to deliver "value for money".

The King is said to have fond memories of the train, which features a carriage created for Charles in the mid-1980s which he still uses now he is King. The Prince of Wales is aware and supports the decommissioning decision.

Mr Chalmers said: "The royal train, of course, has been part of national life for many decades, loved and cared for by all those involved. But in moving forward we must not be bound by the past.

"Just as so many parts of the royal household's work have been modernised and adapted to reflect the world of today, so too, the time has come to bid the fondest of farewells, as we seek to be disciplined and forward in our allocation of funding. With His Majesty's support it has therefore been decided that the process to decommission the royal train will commence next year."

The rundown of royal finances - from April 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025 - covers the months following the King and the Princess of Wales's double cancer diagnosis and the majority of 2024 - the year described by the Prince of Wales as "brutal" and probably the hardest of his life.

Mr Chalmers said: "Before it finally goes out of service, it is our hope that the train will make further visits to parts of the UK, while discussions will begin on finding a long-term home where some particularly historic elements might go on public display."

Charles made a rapid return to public-facing duties in April, while Kate made a more gradual one after revealing in September she had finished her chemotherapy treatment, and later confirmed at the start of 2025 that she was cancer free.

Mr Chalmers said that after returning to public-facing duties in April 2024, the King "demonstrated remarkable resilience by undertaking a wide programme of public and state duties at home and overseas while continuing to receive treatment, demonstrating not only His Majesty's personal commitment to duty but also the adaptability and resilience of the royal household in ensuring continuity of service, no matter the personal circumstances".

Royal travel

Royal travel increased last year by £500,000 to £4.7million. More than £450,000 was spent on 141 helicopter flights for royals including for the King and Queen and Prince and Princess of Wales.

The royals took 55 journeys by private jet at a cost of £598,053 - including the £400,000 cost to Australia and Samoa for Charles and Camilla’s royal tour. Other scheduled flights cost £125,838, while rail travel came in at £89,528.

Prince Andrew

The Duke of York was forced to step back from royal duties in 2019 in disgrace following his disastrous BBC Newsnight interview in which his relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein was analysed.

Since his accession, King Charles has cut him off financially including a personal allowance and axing his £3million a year security detail. Andrew continues to be locked in a bitter battle with his brother, who has implored him to move out of his crumbling 30 room mansion, Royal Lodge, to a smaller home on the royal estate in Windsor.

Andrew has refused to move into the four bed Frogmore Cottage, previously owned and renovated by Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, with Buckingham Palace saying there are “no immediate plans” for anyone moving in.

Prince William and the Duchy of Cornwall

The Prince of Wales is looking at cutting rents for schools and community groups after criticism over multimillion-pound deals his £1billion Duchy of Cornwall land struck with public bodies. William's duchy, which provides him with a private income of nearly £23 million a year, has launched a policy review of the rents it receives from charities and grassroots community groups.

The estate published in its annual accounts that grassroots groups - such as an orchard used for therapeutic gardening - who are direct tenants will have their rents waived, while local charities will see up to a 50 per cent reduction in rent.

Aides said William wanted to ensure the duchy operated in a "modern, socially minded way" and that the rents being saved amounted to a "very significant sum".

It follows an investigation last November into the prince's Duchy and the Duchy of Lancaster estate, which provides a private income for the King, by Channel 4's Dispatches and The Sunday Times, which found the estates had secured rental agreements worth millions of pounds with the armed forces, the NHS and state schools.

Diversity targets

Buckingham Palace has once again missed its own diversity target of 14 per cent of household staff - but claimed it is headed in the right direction.

Staff from an ethnic or minority background now account for 12.1 per cent, up from 8.5 per cent in 2020. Kensington Palace said 13.2 per cent of staff were from an ethnic minority background, down marginally from 14 per cent the year before, and that 70.6 per cent of Kensington Palace staff are female and 29.4 per cent male.

Green King

The King’s own job description has been changed to include the monarch’s role in promoting “environmental sustainability”.

As well as head of state for the UK and 14 realms around the world including Canada and Australia, as “head of nation” the royal finance report said the King’s role would continue to focus on four themes making him responsible for fostering national unity, celebrating communities, taking action to protect the environment and promoting cultural heritage.

However, as aides described Charles as a “modernist and a forward thinker”, Buckingham Palace was under fire to explain spending £640,000 to landscape existing gardens at Windsor Castle. One courtier said the move was made to “create a legacy for the future” which would “enhance the visitor experience”.