News

Anne’s visit to Sri Lanka 4th most expensive trip by Royal Family in 2023/24

24 Jul, 2024

Feature Image

Princess Anne’s visit to Sri Lanka was the 4th most expensive trip by the Royal Family in 2023/24.

The most expensive trip by far was the King and Queen Camilla’s five-day visit to Kenya in October and November 2023, which in total cost ?166,557.

The King was also involved in the second and third most expensive trips on the list: a three-day state visit to France with the Queen in September 2023 (?117,942) and a solo two-day journey on the royal train in June 2023 to Pickering in North Yorkshire, to mark the centenary of the Flying Scotsman (?52,013).

According to the British media, the 4th most expensive trip was a six-day visit by the Princess Royal to Sri Lanka in January 2024, undertaken on behalf of the Foreign Office, with travel costs of ?48,112.

Coming in at fifth, sixth and seventh on the list respectively are Prince William’s day trip to Kuwait in December 2023 following the death of Emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah (?41,597), the King and Queen’s visit to Northern Ireland in May 2023 (?32,976) and William and Princess Kate’s trip to Marseille in October 2023 to watch the quarter-final of the Rugby World Cup (?30,975), the Daily Express reported.

There are 27 separate journeys by royal family members listed in the official report for 2023/24 where travel costs were at least ?17,000, only eight of which involved the King.

The royal family made few foreign trips in the year to March 2024, perhaps reflecting a need to stay closer to home during a period in which both the King and the Princess of Wales spent time in hospital for cancer treatment, the Evening Standard reported. (Colombo Gazette)

Recommended For You

Feature Image

Sri Lanka among top 5 nationalities granted dependant visas to UK

Sri Lanka is among the top 5 nationalities granted dependant visas to the UK. The number of visa grants for people to come and live in the UK has more than doubled from over half a million in 2019 to 1.3 million in 2022, Migrant Watch UK reported. “One telling aspect of the figures is the huge rise in the number of family members of those on study visas who are coming here; remember that all of those coming have full access to the labour market with no pay thresholds or job offer requirements,

27 Feb, 2023

Feature Image

Disciplinary action sought on Susil for using f-word in Parliament

Disciplinary action has been sought on Education Minister Susil Premajayantha for using the f-word in Parliament on a female MP. Premajayantha was heard using the word on?Parliamentarian Rohini Kaviratne on Friday when the Minister was responding to a question raised by the MP. The Minister used the word when the camera in Parliament was directed away from the Minister but his mic was still on. Kaviratne has raised the matter with Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena and requested disciplinary ac

26 Feb, 2023

Feature Image

Probe sought on Shavendra over May 9-10 violence

An investigation has been sought on Chief of Defence Staff and former Army Commander General Shavendra Silva over his failure to take steps to prevent the violence which took place on 09th and 10th May 2022. A committee headed by Admiral of the Fleet Wasantha Karannagoda has proposed that the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) investigate the lapses by State Intelligence, Police and the Armed Forces during the mass anti-government protests and violent incidents which took place across the

27 Feb, 2023