Prince Harry’s tour to southern Africa in 2019 was the most expensive of all the royal visits last year, recent figures have shown. The Duke, his wife Meghan Markle, 39, and their then-four-month-old baby son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, went to South Africa. Harry then went on to Angola, Malawi and Botswana alone.
The source explained the tour to southern Africa was an important visit approved by the Foreign Office and helped to showcase the work of multiple charities.
Prince Harry is not the only member of the Royal Family to splurge on tours abroad.
His father Prince Charles, 71, travelled to Oman on a trip that cost £210,345.
The Prince of Wales took a private charter plane in order to pay official respects after the death of the king on a trip which lasted just two days.
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The third most expensive royal visit was the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s tour to Pakistan.
The visit cost £117,116 – but was hailed by ministers as a big success.
Prince William and Kate Middleton took a whopping 14 members of staff on the five-day trip.
Two private secretaries were among their entourage as well as a communications secretary, and four other members of the comms team.
Additionally, there were two assistant private secretaries, their PA, programme coordinators, Kate’s hairdresser and a doctor.
All in all, the total bill for royal travel in 2019/2020 amounted to £5.3million.
This was a 15.2 per cent increase on £4.6million the previous year, according to the palace’s annual report and accounts.
Looking back at previous years, it was Prince Charles who racked up the most expensive royal trip of 2017.
His tour of India, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore came to around £362,000.
Aides insisted the heir to the throne made the trip, along with his wife Camilla Duchess of Cornwall, now 73, aboard an RAF Voyager at the request of the Foreign Office in the 2017-2018 financial year.
Accounts from the year also revealed that Charles used the royal train seven times, at a cost of £20,000 for each journey, compared with the Queen’s four trips.
Officials said the choice of transport was the most efficient and secure and provided the best value for money.
What’s more, Charles’ 2017 visit to Romania and then on to join Camilla in Italy, the Vatican, and Austria, cost an estimated £154,000.
The pair travelled on the converted RAF A330 Voyager refuelling aircraft, which was nicknamed Cam Force One.