King Charles’ 2024 Royal Tour of Australia Amounted to Less Than Half the Cost of Queen Elizabeth’s 2006 Tour Down Under

Mar. 15, 2025

King Charles III and Queen Camilla pose for a photo at the Sydney Opera House with the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the background on Oct. 22, 2024 in Sydney, Australia.Photo:Chris Jackson/Getty

Chris Jackson/Getty

King CharlesandQueen Camilla’s October visit to Australia cost significantly less thanQueen Elizabeth’s visit there 18 years prior.

Queen Elizabeth II greets the crowds on arrival at Fairbairn base on Oct. 19, 2011 in Canberra, Australia.Alex Coppel - Pool/Getty

Alex Coppel - Pool/Getty

Comparatively, the King and Queen’s trip two months ago cost $372,797 (£297,000) — whichThe Telegraphreported is less than half the cost of the late Queen’s short visit 18 years prior.

The total cost of Charles and Camilla’s six-day tour — which breaks down to just over $62,000 per day — includes travel, accommodation, meals, events, hospitality, transport and making flags, according toThe Telegraph.

The royal tour, which preceded a second stop in Samoa, was the King’s first visit Down Under as monarch. The trip was adjusted to include a rest day as he continues his cancer treatment, which will reach into 2025 but is headed in a positive direction,according to a Dec. 20 report from the palace.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla depart following a service at St. Thomas’s Anglican Church on Oct. 20, 2024 in Sydney, Australia.Dean Lewins - Pool/Getty

Dean Lewins - Pool/Getty

Though they flew part of the way (from the U.K. to Singapore and back) via commercial airline, the figures of the tour — published in theSydney Morning Herald— “are likely to spark criticism from the republican movement as Australia grapples with a cost-of-living crisis,”The Telegraphreported.

Australia’sResolve Political Monitorfound that 31% of people thought the King, 76, was doing “the job well,” down from 45% immediately after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth, in 2022. Support to make Australia a republic rose from 36% to 41% of those surveyed, and the King said ahead of his tour of Australia this year that Australia keeping him as head of state is “a matter for the Australian public to decide.”

Queen Camilla and King Charles III visit the Australian National Botanic Gardens on Oct. 21, 2024 in Canberra, Australia.Arthur Edwards/Pool/Getty

Arthur Edwards/Pool/Getty

Australia remains one of 14 countries globally to retain the British monarch as its head of state. In 2021,Barbados became the most recent nation to become a republic, and Jamaica — which currently considers Charles its head of state — recently made a move towards removing the King in that capacity.

In the U.K., a recent IPSOS survey found that 43% of the British public think the royal family is a “good value for money for the U.K. taxpayer.” When it comes to dollars and cents, “Travel costs are among the largest bills of the royal finances each year,”The Telegraphreported. For example, Charles and Camilla’s three-day state visit to France last year cost nearly $148,000, and a state visit to Kenya cost $209,000.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrive for a visit in Canberra at Defence Establishment Fairbairn, Canberra Airport on Oct. 21, 2024 in Canberra, Australia.Tracey Nearmy/Getty

Tracey Nearmy/Getty

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source: people.com