The Queen and the Royal Family cost the UK taxpayer £40m in the last financial year, Buckingham Palace accounts reveal.

The cost, equivalent to 66p per person in the UK, jumped 4 per cent over the previous year, the figures showed.

According to officials, most of the money was spent on more official overseas trips and essential maintenance of royal palaces.

Alan Reid, keeper of the Privy Purse, said the Queen and the rest of the Royal Family gave "value for money".

He said the figure, which excludes security costs, was at its lowest since 2001 and had fallen 3.1 per cent in real terms since 2000-01.

“The reduction in the amount of Head of State expenditure in real terms reflects the continuous attention the Royal Household pays to obtaining the best value for money in all areas of expenditure,” said Mr Reid.

"In real terms" means the change in a financial number after correcting for the effect of inflation.

The article Royals cost the British taxpayer £40m originally appeared on 999 Today