King Charles's luxury Royal Train, which was pulled by the Flying Scotsman at an engagement last year, cost up to £52,000 in the last 12 months, new accounts have shown.
The locomotive racked up a high bill despite only being used for one engagement that the monarch undertook in June 2023. King Charles travelled by royal train to Pickering in North Yorkshire to mark the centenary of the Flying Scotsman.
Journeys on the royal train, which was said to be Queen Elizabeth's "favourite way to travel", certainly don't come cheap and can cost anywhere from £25k to £30k on average per journey.
King Charles III arrives by train pulled by the Flying Scotsman into Pickering Station for a visit to the Railway and the town, in celebration of its 100th anniversary, on June 12, 2023 in Pickering, England.
Despite the high costs reported by the new royal accounts, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said that the royal train still "provides an effective and operationally efficient level of transport for His Majesty to perform individual duties."
They added: "It provides overnight security and thereby mitigates security costs of others. We have said that we will review the usage of the Royal train during this reign. We are 18 months into the reign and therefore that pattern of usage is still to be determined, but we are committed to reviewing its use in the coming years."
The train has been used by the royal family since 1840 and is the source of much fascination and has previously been featured in the Channel 5 documentary, Secrets of the Royal Train.
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Inside King Charles' luxury train that costs up to £52k per ride
As you would expect, the vehicle is not your average train; the nine-carriage Royal Train is equipped with multiple bedrooms and bathrooms, a dining room that seats 12, and an office where the royals are said to work during their travels.
There is also some room for staff from the royal household who accompany the King or his guests to their destination.
The insides are surprisingly functional rather than palatial; royal aides once described it as being fitted with bathroom fixtures 'you could find in Homebase or B&Q'.
The King has a private 75ft long air-conditioned and heated saloon carriage.
It contains a bedroom with a single bed, a sitting room, a desk, dining quarters – and its own private bathroom featuring a full-sized bathtub.
The royal train was first used in 1840 by Queen Consort Adelaide (the title given to the wife of King William IV), who rode the caboose from Nottingham to Leeds.
However, the first monarch to ride the train was Queen Victoria, who used it to travel from London to Windsor two years later.
It has since been used for many memorable journeys, including transporting Queen Victoria's body from London to Windsor, where she was buried, following her funeral service in 1901. Here, a photo depicting Queen Victoria's private saloon is shown.
Meanwhile, in the 1980s shortly after they wed, the then-Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales, travelled on the royal train to start their honeymoon in Scotland before embarking on a cruise through the Greek Islands to Egypt on Royal Yacht Britannia.
Which royals can travel on the King's royal train?
Royals are only permitted to use the train on invitation from the monarch. When Queen Elizabeth was alive, the use of the royal train was typically only reserved for senior royals. Before he became king, Prince Charles enjoyed many a journey with his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall.
Queen Elizabeth II and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex arrive by Royal Train at Runcorn Station to open the new Mersey Gateway Bridge on June 14, 2018 in the town of Runcorn, Cheshire, England.
The Duchess of Sussex became the youngest royal to accompany the Queen on the royal train in June 2018, as she carried out a day of engagements with the Queen in Cheshire.
