Prince decides to tighten one's belt

The figures revealed that Charles has cut the bill from 527,000 to 252,000.

The savings were attributed to cost efficiencies and the type of entertainment put on, rather than smaller sandwiches. The number of guests entertained remained constant.

The spending cut falls against a background of royal belt-tightening, as the prince's official expenditure fell from 12,513,000 to 10,723,000 in the last year.

His non-official expenditure also fell, but less dramatically, decreasing by less than 1 per cent from 1,710,000 to 1,694,000.

His funding from the taxpayer was almost halved as well, although his private income increased by more than 4 per cent, the accounts showed.

The income from the Duchy of Cornwall rose from 16,458,000 last year to 17,161,000 this year, while his funding from grants-in-aid and Government departments decreased from 3,033,000 to 1,664,000.

The prince paid almost 13 per cent more tax in the last year, with his bill rising from 3,093,000 to 3,484,000.

Asked whether the global economic downturn had affected the way the prince's household had been run during the last year, Charles's principal private secretary Sir Michael Peat said: "Yes, absolutely. We are living in the real world."

He emphasised that the prince's prudent financial management was in contrast with that of the banks and others who made huge profits during the economic boom years.

"The prince has tried to run his household and the Duchy of Cornwall in a constant, steady way," he said.

"In the heady days when banks and property companies were making vast returns, we didn't make vast returns.

"His approach has always been one of steady progress rather than dashing to the heights and then plunging to the depths...

"During the recession we're able to continue employing people rather than putting them on the dole, and to pay more tax rather than less tax."

The significant fall in taxpayer funding for the prince was due to lower spending on overseas travel, he said.

"Most of that money is spent on overseas travel that the Prince and the Duchess of Cornwall undertake at the request of the Government, so it depends where the Government wants them to go," he said.

"Last year the main long-haul trip they did was to Canada, which was paid for by the Canadians, so it didn't fall as a cost to British public funds."

However, there were areas in which expenditure did increase.

The amount he spent on his gardens soared from 65,000 to 125,000, while his spending on staff rose from 6,244,000 to 6,303,000 in the last year. The prince employs the equivalent of 124 full-time staff, who perform roles ranging from private secretaries and financial and charities administrators to chefs, kitchen porters and gardeners.

But other areas appeared to be subject to greater austerity, including travel and subsistence with spending down from 308,000 to 229,000. External consulting and professional fees were cut from 171,000 to 141,000 and stationery and office equipment costs were down from 218,000 to 186,000.

Explaining how the prince's estate had cut back in the tough economic climate, Sir Michael said: "The Prince of Wales reduced his personal expenditure by 25 per cent last year. Most of our costs are employment costs and costs with suppliers.

"We manage them steadily. The expenditure we control has gone down this year by 4 per cent, which I regard as a prudent response (to the economic downturn). We have a balanced, steady approach – prudent, but supporting the country."