Despite efforts to reduce her cost to the British taxpayer by $2.9 million (1.8 million pounds) last year, the British monarch Queen Elizabeth needs more public money to fund repairs and maintenance work on royal estates including Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace.

The queen receives $19.1 million (11.9 million pounds) a year from public funds to maintain the properties, but a pay freeze means that money is being spent on emergency repairs, according to the Daily Telegraph.

Projects including roof repairs, upgrading antiquated heating systems and refurbishing state rooms have been put on hold to channel funds toward much-needed work on Buckingham Palace.

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Overall, the monarch's April 2010-2011 expenditure year fell by 5.3 percent to $51.6 million (32.1 million pounds).

The queen's treasurer and keeper of the privy purse Alan Reid said the queen "is very keen that the royal household should continue to reduce its expenditure in line with public expenditure reductions," AFP reports. 

However, Reid added that it would be very difficult to reduce costs much further without having an impact on the long-term health of the royal estates.

Palace officials said that although increased revenue from the estates was used to counter costs, it is unlikely to be sufficient and "further funding will be required in due course."

Buckingham Palace said the increase in travel costs from $4.8 million (3.9 million pounds) to $9.6 million (6 million pounds) was largely due to changes in the royal family's air transport leasing arrangements.

Although these figures do not include the period covering the recent royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, it is understood that the couple's families paid the costs of the wedding apart from security, which was covered by British taxpayers.