THEY say it costs 61p a year for every taxpayer to keep the Royal family.

At first I could not understand how one family could spend over £36million a year, it's not as if they have a mortgage to pay or anything like that.

And most of the times they do go out things are free.

Maybe they could save money by opening a couple of shops around Buckingham Palace or sub-let some rooms to students like my Uncle Jamal. He hasn't done a full days work since the 70s but still somehow manages to live like a king.

But what would I do with 61p anyway? You can't buy anything of any worth that these days.

A loaf of bread costs more than a pound in some places and we waste more money by leaving electrical appliances on when we're not using them.

So I can't see why so much was made by some people of this paltry figure - they should be spending more money.

It's embarrassing to think that my Royal family is so stingy. How dare they save money on the finer things in life?

I for one would be prepared to pay up to a quid and not a penny more. Okay, maybe for the Queen but no one else.

So what if Prince Andrew spends thousands flying around the world? Do people really expect him to sit next to all the aunties and uncles in a PIA economy class next time he goes on a state visit to Pakistan.

It's out of the question, what would the locals think? And how would he get through customs? And would it be fair on all the uncles and aunties?

If the royal train costs £40,000 to run there is obviously a reason. It's meant to be expensive to run because the Queen's going to sit in it. If I was queen, I mean king, it would be wholly unfair for me to have to travel on a normal train. I'd never get anywhere.

To put things in perspective, however, it is interesting to note that the Government has put aside £3billion this year to continue bombing people in Iraq. That's on top of the billions we've already had to fork out.

That 61p definitely doesn't seem a great deal now.