The Prince of Wales saw his funding from the taxpayer jump by almost a quarter last year.

Accounts from Clarence House show the heir to the throne received £3,033,000 from grants-in-aid and Government departments.

That was up 23.5 per cent on the £2,454,000 Charles was given the previous year.

The main cost was a 48 per cent rise in official travel by air and rail which increased to £1,710,000.

By contrast, the Prince's private income from the Duchy of Cornwall, the landed estate given to the heir to the throne, increased by just 1 per cent to £16.4 million.

His official expenditure rose by nearly 20 per cent from £10,451,000 to £12,513,000.

Prince Charles also paid almost 10 per cent less tax in the last financial year, with his bill falling from £3,429,000 to £3,093,000.

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