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Harry and Meghan’s tour of South Africa last year cost the taxpayer nearly £ 246,000, new accounts show.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex brought their four-month-old son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor to South Africa in September last year on his first royal trip abroad, and the Duke also traveled alone to Angola, Malawi and Botswana.
The flights came in at nearly a quarter of a million pounds and were the most expensive royal journey of 2019-2020, according to royal financial records.
The trip became controversial after Meghan took legal action against a newspaper and Harry launched a scathing attack on the tabloid press while the tour was still underway.
Harry and Meghan also filmed an ITV documentary during the trip in which they discussed their struggles as royalty.
A high-level royal source insisted the couple is under no obligation to repay the travel money after announcing their decision to resign as senior royals only three months later.
The source noted that it was a key visit approved by the Foreign Ministry and helped highlight the work of numerous charities.
The figures also revealed that flights for a two-day visit to Oman taken by the Prince of Wales cost £ 210,345.
Records show that Harry and Meghan have paid the rent for Frogmore Cottage for a “number of years” in advance, in addition to having reimbursed £ 2.4 million in taxpayer money that was spent on renovating the property of Windsor.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were able to pay the refund after signing a lucrative deal with Netflix that is rumored to be worth more than £ 100 million.
Although the couple now live in California, they have kept the Grade II property as their base in the UK.
News of advance rent payments comes after Harry and Meghan fully refunded Frogmore Cottage renovation costs earlier this month.
Critics had asked them to reimburse the public purse following their decision to resign as royalty in search of financial and personal freedom.
A senior palace source said the Sussexes had made a “substantial contribution” to the Sovereign Grant, adding that the figures will only appear in next year’s actual accounts.
Meanwhile, Reuters has reported that the rent paid has been set at a commercial rate.
A source told the news agency: “They have met their current obligations, their debt obligations in relation to Frogmore Cottage, and have made a payment that will acknowledge that they have paid the rent on that property for several years.
“There will be a time in the future when they would be expected to make more payments.”
Graham Smith, the chief executive of Republic, an anti-monarchy organization, called for a review of Harry and Meghan’s dealings with Frogmore.
He said: “What we have is a family that takes advantage of their position (in relation to) public property. They are arranging their own finances, doing their own books, and then reporting their own finances – there needs to be independent scrutiny.
“I think the Crown Estate has questions to answer about allowing the royals to use the property in this way, and why they are not more open about the financial transactions that take place in relation to the houses that are left to the royals. royal family have “.
As part of your agreement with Netflix, Harry and Meghan will produce films and series for the streaming platform, including scripted series, docuseries, documentaries, feature films and children’s programming.
The real accounts for 2019-20 were published, with a warning that there could be a shortfall of £ 35 million due to the coronavirus pandemic.
