How Harry and Meghan splashed out £2.4m of YOUR cash as they turned FIVE homes ...

Prince Harry and Meghan have spent £2.4million of public money doing up their Windsor home.

The newlyweds moved out of Kensington Palace this spring amid reports of a rift with his brother William and sister-in-law Kate.

The overhaul of Frogmore Cottage was approved by the Queen, according to accounts released yesterday.

The 19th century property had been converted into five smaller staff houses and needed to be turned back into a single home. Ceilings and floors were replaced along with the addition of new bathrooms, bedrooms and a kitchen.

Aides say any costs above the agreed budget were met privately by the couple. The accounts also show that:

The Queen was given £82.2million to support her official duties in 2018/19, up from £76.1million the year before; Half of the cash went on the upkeep of Buckingham Palace and other royal residences, reflecting the age and national importance of the buildings; The cost of royal travel fell by £100,000 to £4.6million; Five big tours saw the Royal Household's carbons emissions double; Prince Charles's income from the Duchy of Cornwall was barely changed at £21.6million and he paid £4.7million in tax; The Queen and other royals spent almost £200,000 on private jets for travel to and from Scotland.

The Keeper of the Privy Purse, Sir Michael Stevens, who is in charge of the Queen's accounts, said the report showed she continued to be 'highly active', conducting 140 engagements in 12 months. The wider family undertook more than 3,200 official duties here and abroad.

Despite retiring, the Duke of Edinburgh still receives £359,000 from the Treasury each year to run a private office. An aide stressed that the figure was unchanged from 1992 and was so insufficient the Queen made up the difference.

Charles saw his personal expenditure rise by £155,000 to £3.15million – partly because of Harry's wedding.

He also spent £5million on other activities, including those of his sons.

Officials said the cost of the monarchy equated to £1.24 per British citizen.

And they insisted that Frogmore had been earmarked for renovation even before it caught Harry and Meghan's eye.

Sir Michael said: 'The sovereign grant covered the work undertaken to turn the building into the official residence and home of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their new family.

'The building was returned to a single residence and outdated infrastructure was replaced to guarantee the long-term future of the property.' 

Early reports suggesting the works could cost taxpayers as much as £3million were previously dismissed by the couple's representatives, who insisted it was likely to be nearer 'half that'.

Given that the project is still not complete – exterior painting and landscaping still needs to be done – it will cost well in excess of the £2.4million revealed in the latest accounts.

Sources close to the Sussexes stressed last night that reports of the couple building a yoga studio or a mother-and-baby yoga room complete with a 'floating' or sprung wooden floor in the cottage were incorrect. The only 'floating floor', which emerged in plans submitted to the local council, was a specific requirement from the planners and relates to the main kitchen area to protect an old floor.

The sources added: 'Frogmore Cottage is a Grade II-listed building, the official and only residence of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. It is not their country residence, it is their only residence.

'Other senior working members of the Royal Family have official residences which are paid for by the sovereign grant to enable them to carry out their royal duties.'

Anti-monarchy campaigners Republic called for a full parliamentary inquiry into royal spending after the release of the accounts. But friends of the Sussexes told the Mail that Frogmore Cottage was comparatively small, with just four bedrooms and a nursery, adding: 'It really isn't as grand as some people might think.

'There's no wing for Doria, no yoga studio. It's a fairly cosy family home.'  

Carbon emissions from royal travel DOUBLES in just a year despite efforts from senior family members to reduce their environmental impact 

Carbon emissions for royal travel doubled last year, despite Buckingham Palace trying to reduce its environmental impact.

CO2 emissions for the whole Royal Household rose from 1,687 in 2018 to 3,344 in 2019, despite a 24 per cent fall in energy use at the palace.

Officials said it was a matter of regret but stressed that increased foreign travel on behalf of the Government were responsible for the rise.

‘This is clearly linked to five major overseas visits rather than one the previous year,’ one official insisted.

A spokesman for the Prince of Wales pointed out that his emissions had risen by only 2 per cent overall, despite increased travel requests.

Royal family slashes its travel bill but the annual cost still amounts to £4.6million - with Charles and Camilla spending more than £416,000 on Cuba trip 

The bill for royal travel has gone down in the past year but still cost taxpayers £4.6million.

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall undertook the most expensive overseas tour, spending £416,576 on a visit to Cuba and the Caribbean in March.

Officials stressed that the trip, like all royal tours, was undertaken at the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The royal couple, both now in their 70s, visited seven countries over 11 days and carried out 57 engagements.

‘What you are seeing is the Prince of Wales play a prominent role in supporting the Queen and travelling on behalf of the Queen overseas,’ an official said.

The prince’s tour with his wife to the Gambia, Ghana and Nigeria cost a further £216,312, while their official visit to France and Greece last May totalled £159,820 for travel alone.

The royals also spent almost £200,000 on private jets to take them to and from their homes in Scotland. Last October Charles put in a bill for £28,911 for taking a charter flight from Birkhall, his Highland property, to London and then back again.

He flew down from a break in Scotland to London in April last year to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting at a cost of £15,761 and back up from London to Aberdeen a few days later at a cost of £17,922.

Royal Train was used just five times last year - but at £22,000 a trip, it still racked up a bill of more than £100,000 

The Royal Train was used just five times last year, costing on average £22,000 a time.