High time we reined royals in

ANOTHER year, another whopping amount of money handed over from you and me to the Windsors, possibly the richest family in the country.

Back in 2011, the Civil List that funds the royals cost us £7.9million.

The latest figures show that has grown to an obscene £86.3million in what is now called the Sovereign Grant.

Too much even to hand over in Fortnum and Mason carrier bags.

The Palace will say the headline figure is the same as last year – big deal – but what the numbers also show is that the reserve, built up over the years with our money, is being whittled down.

Royal expenditure was up 17% this year. It will not be long before they will be back, cap in hand. And that’s without the £200million-plus spent on security, often for minor royals you’ve never heard of.

And all the extra tax breaks only the Royal Family benefits from, such as the exemption from inheritance tax and the fact Prince Charles refuses to pay corporation tax on the more than £20million he takes each year from the Duchy of Cornwall, despite insisting it’s a private estate and so should be taxable.

The simple truth is the royals have been raking it in at our expense.

Just look at the royal travel figures out today. Charles and Camilla splurged £16,025 on a charter plane from Glasgow to London. What’s wrong with the train?

It’s time Parliament called an end to this excess and reined in the royals. The monarchy may be safe while the Queen is still around but Charles will find the public much less tolerant when he takes over.