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Queen Elizabeth is a proud dog-lover, and her beloved pets travel with the royal as she moves between homes. Her corgis even travel by private jet, according to a former staffer. But the royal family’s use of taxpayer money to fly private has caused concern, not just over the funds but also the carbon emissions. Here’s what we know about how the Queen’s dogs travel and the royal family’s history of travel spending.

Queen Elizabeth, who flies her dogs on a private jet, smiles at an event.
Queen Elizabeth II | Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth flies her dogs on private jets

Former Royal footman Steven Kaye recently opened up about caring for Queen Elizabeth’s dogs. Kaye worked for the Queen for over three years, and he saw firsthand how her beloved corgis received the royal treatment. 

One outstanding fact about the Queen’s pet care was that her dogs flew on a private jet when the Queen traveled to Balmoral. 

“She’ll tend to have the dogs with her for the first four weeks and then on staff changeover day, we would then have to fly the dogs back to Windsor,” Kaye told Slingo. “They’d get flown on the private jet to Northolt and a lady that lived on the Great Windsor Park would come and collect them.” 

Although Kaye didn’t specify that taxpayer money funded the dogs’ flights, the royal family has come under fire many times for their use of private jets due to both the cost and the carbon emissions.

Queen Elizabeth and the royal family have been criticized for spending public money on private jets

Although Queen Elizabeth’s corgis flying on a private jet may seem like an adorable story, it points to a bigger issue of the royal family’s spending on private jets and the effect of these flights on the environment. 

According to the Independent, the royal family spent more than £13 million of public money on private flights in less than 10 years. Their official travel is funded by taxpayers through the Sovereign Grant. 

Among these flights was a trip to the Glasgow Climate Change Conference in 2021, which Prince Charles attended via private jet. But “Prince Charles only agreed to fly on a private jet between Rome and Glasgow when it was agreed that sustainable fuel would be used in the plane,” according to Forbes. Still, flying private is not the most efficient way to travel, and taxpayers were upset about the cost. 

Reports vary on the exact number, but hundreds of Climate Change Convention attendees flew to the event via private jets. 

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Many taxpayers were upset about the cost of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee festivities 

Besides the expense and carbon emissions of private jets, some taxpayers were enraged by the cost of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee festivities this summer. 

The four-day weekend of events included a massive military parade, a cathedral service, and a party at Buckingham Palace. The festivities concluded with a £15 million pageant carnival featuring celebrity performers. 

In 2021, Chancellor Rishi Sunak and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) said the government would set aside £28 million for the Platinum Jubilee celebrations (per Fortune).

The exorbitant cost of the festivities has drawn criticism from many U.K. taxpayers. They were outraged at the royal family’s frivolous spending while the rest of the people were still recovering from the global pandemic and facing a cost of living crisis.

It’s important to note that not all of the £28 million quoted by the DCMS and Chancellor Sunak were taxpayer dollars. For example, the organization claimed that the £15 million pageant finale was covered by independent fundraising, not taxpayer money. 

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