Queen Elizabeth costs each UK taxpayer 62 pence a year, with the overall cost of running the royal family increasing above the rate of inflation, Buckingham Palace said yesterday.

The Royal Public Finances report said the queen’s family and household spending was 37.4 million pounds, a 4.2 percent increase from the previous year, costing the taxpayer an extra 1 pence more a year. The queen’s accountants said the expenditure figure represented a decrease in real terms of 2.5 percent since 2001.

“The annual cost per person in the country, in funding the Head of State, amounts to 62 pence,” said Alan Reid, Keeper of the Privy Purse.“This is the annual cost, not the daily, weekly or monthly cost. We are pleased that the total cost of the monarchy is lower in real terms than it was in 2001.”

“The reduction in the amount of Head of State expenditure reflects the continuous attention the Royal Household pays to obtaining the best value for money in all areas of expenditure.” The death of Princess Diana in a Paris car crash in 1997 marked a turning point in public opinion and led to attacks on the monarchy’s wealth and demands that it become more open and accountable.

Shortly afterwards, the queen agreed to scrap her beloved royal yacht Britannia rather than ask the public to pay 60 million pounds for a replacement.