(CNN) -- Queen Elizabeth and the royal family cost British taxpayers an average of 66 pence ($1.32) per person last year, Buckingham Palace announced Friday in its annual report of royal finances.





The Queen and the royal family cost Britons a little bit more in the latest financial year.





The total cost of the queen and royal family was 40 million pounds ($80 million) in the past fiscal year, an increase of 2 percent from the year before, according to the Royal Public Finances report.





The man in charge of managing the queen's financial affairs said she has tried to keep costs down, pointing out that the queen's expenses are more than 3 percent lower in real terms than they were in 2001.





"The reduction in the amount of head of state expenditure in real terms reflects the continuous attention the royal household pays to obtaining the best value for money in all areas of expenditure," said Alan Reid, whose official title is "keeper of the privy purse."





Funding for property maintenance at the royal palaces increased by almost 1 million pounds ($2 million) from the year before to 15.3 million pounds ($30.6 million), but it will stay at that level for the next three years, the palace said.





Reid warned that the money is not enough to deal with a backlog of maintenance work.





"This backlog relates to essential maintenance and does not include any allowance for projects such as the redecoration of the state rooms at Buckingham Palace, most of which were last redecorated before the queen's reign," he said.





Available funds are also unlikely for replacing the lead and slate roofs at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle (which would cost an estimated 16 million pounds, or $32 million); replacing heating and electrical wiring and removing asbestos at the palace (2.4 million pounds, or $4.8 million); and replacing Victorian cast iron and lead water mains at the castle (3 million pounds, or $6 million).





Travel was a major expense for the queen and her family over the past year, the reports showed.





The most expensive trip was the queen's six-day state visit to the United States, which cost a total of 414,042 pounds (about $828,000). It cost 316,061 pounds (about $632,000) for Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, to take an eight-day trip to Uganda and Turkey in November for Britain's Foreign Office.





Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, also had a series of expensive trips as part of his role as the United Kingdom's special representative for international trade and investment. He visited more than 20 countries in that capacity last year, trying to attract investors to Britain and helping British companies improve their prospects overseas.





"This report is provided every year to show transparency in the royal accounts," said CNN royal watcher Richard Quest. "It is often used as an example to show profligacy, for instance with the cost of the royal train, which runs around 20,000 pounds ($40,000) a day."
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The Queen and the royal family cost Britons a little bit more in the latest financial 66 pence ($1.32) an 66 pence ($1.32) family cost British taxpayers an average of 66 pence ($1.32) to keep costs down, 2 percent 40 million pounds ($80 million)
question: did this figure increase this year?, answer: The Queen and the royal family cost Britons a little bit more in the latest financial | question: How much did the royal family cost British taxpayers per person?, answer: 66 pence ($1.32) | question: Is this an increase over the previous year?, answer: an | question: What does the royal family cost per person per year?, answer: 66 pence ($1.32) | question: What did the accounts reveal?, answer: family cost British taxpayers an average of 66 pence ($1.32) | question: What do the accounts reveal need for?, answer: to keep costs down, | question: How much is the increase compered to last year?, answer: 2 percent | question: How much did the royal family cost taxpayers last year?, answer: 40 million pounds ($80 million)