CAMPAIGNERS have condemned the royal family for increasing their spending of public money while public services are being squeezed.
Campaign group Republic have also urged journalists to report the true cost of the royals, which they have calculated to be in excess of £345 million a year.
The group also claimed that while the sovereign grant hasn't increased, their reported spending of public money has gone up by 5%.
It comes as millions of people across Scotland and the UK are paying higher mortgages, bills and food prices amid the cost-of-living crisis.
Republic has also called out Prince William – who recently visited Aberdeen as part of a tour he’s put together in an effort to end homelessness – for refusing to publish his annual accounts.
READ MORE: The royal charade is morally bankrupt and manifestly absurd
Speaking for Republic, Graham Smith said on Wednesday: "The royals have long hidden their true cost, which we have worked out to be at least £345m. That's enough to pay for 13,000 new nurses or teachers.
"Trying to excuse this by dividing the figure by every man, woman and child is nonsense. The questions that need to be asked are whether this spending is ethical, a good use of public money and what else it could be spent on. When the president of Ireland costs just €4m how can this expense be justified?
"Our figure of £345m is far more accurate than the official report, when we factor in costs to local councils, local police forces, the revenue of the two Duchies and security.
"This year we have also had the huge cost of the funeral and the £250m inheritance tax bill Charles has avoided.
"The Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall are public property, property of the Crown and therefore of the state. With profits going to William at a record high of £24m, it's time we took them back and spent that money on local communities.
"And William has some explaining to do, because a change of monarch and heir is no excuse to row back on what little transparency there is. There is no reason they can't continue to publish their accounts and this leaves the suspicion they are hiding something."
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