Prince William and Duchess Catherine’s royal visit to New Zealand cost over £500,000

OHMYGOSSIP — Prince William and Duchess Catherine’s royal tour of New Zealand in April cost taxpayers over £500,000. The royal couple took part in a whirlwind 11-day tour of Australia and New Zealand in April, and the country’s Department of Internal Affairs has detailed the expenditure required to accommodate the British heirs.

£200,000 was spent on personnel costs, according to the department, while £51,000 was spent on international travel and £40,000 spent on domestic air travel. An additional £54,000 was spent on car hire.

Costs for accommodation and meals set taxpayers back another £66,000, £45,000 was spent on government hospitality, and general operating costs – including security to protect William, Catherine and their 10-month-old son Prince George – reached £49,000.

The total is over $1 million NZ, which is in line with an estimate made by Prime Minister John Key in March.

The leader predicted the tour could cost $1 million, but insisted the royal visit would be worth it.

He said: “The costs of these visits are obviously significant but on the other side of the coin I suspect we’ll get a lot of marketing for New Zealand with the large contingent of international media covering it.”