June 27 (Bloomberg) -- Soaring food and energy costs pushed up prices for Queen Elizabeth II by almost twice the rate of inflation in the last fiscal year.

The queen's household costs for the 12 months through March, paid for by the British taxpayer, rose by 6.1 percent, according to accounts published today. Consumer-price inflation reached 3.3 percent in May, the highest since at least 1997.

The total cost of the queen's household was 40 million pounds ($79.5 million). That figure includes several foreign trips, such as the state visit to U.S. and a trip to a summit of the Commonwealth nations in Uganda. It excludes security costs.

``This is the annual cost, not the daily, weekly or monthly cost, and is 3.1 percent lower in real terms than it was in 2001,'' Alan Reid, the queen's chief accountant, known as her Keeper of the Privy Purse, said in a statement on the queen's Web site. ``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.''

The monarchy now costs each person in Britain the equivalent of 66 pence a year, up from 62 pence last year. A statement on her Web site says this is ``less than the price of two pints of milk or a download to an iPod.''

Food and fuel prices are driving up inflation, and Bank of England Governor Mervyn King says the inflation rate may top 4 percent this year. Unions pushing for bigger wage increases point to a broader measure of price gains that hit 4.4 percent last month.

VAT, Council Tax

The queen has to pay value-added tax of 17.5 percent on goods her household purchases, while those living in palaces also have to pay a property-based levy known as council tax for funding local services such as trash collection.

Elizabeth, 82, who became queen in 1953, doesn't personally own her royal palaces but, as sovereign, passes them from one generation to the next. Reid said an extra 32 million pounds is needed for building and repair work to the royal estate, which includes Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Sandringham House in eastern England and Balmoral Castle in Scotland.

``With no increase in funding for 12 years, the backlog in essential maintenance projects has continued to grow,'' Reid wrote on the queen's Web site.

Forbes.com ranked the queen number 11 in 2007's ``Richest Royals'' list, with a net worth of $600 million.

To contact the reporters on this story: Kitty Donaldson in London at kdonaldson1@bloomberg.net;

Last Updated: June 27, 2008 08:49 EDT