Royal bailout looms as Queen's bills grow

LONDON: The latest financial statements from Britain's royal family suggest that the next British institution needing a taxpayer bailout could well be the monarch herself.

Annual accounts analyzed by Britain's press Tuesday show that Queen Elizabeth II took $9.9 million over the past year from her own state-funded reserve account to balance the books at Buckingham Palace and myriad other royal residences.

The total bill for the queen and her family's globe-trotting rose 3.8 percent to $68.6 million - the equivalent of $1.14 per citizen - during a 12-month period.