The Royal family brings in well over £500 million a year from overseas tourists, according to new VisitBritain research.

It says the money is generated, directly and indirectly, by tourists who visit sites related to the Monarchy, like the Tower of London, The Palace and Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. In total, £46bn of overseas tourism spend is generated by Britain’s culture and heritage in the widest sense, extending from theatres, galleries, to pubs, Premiership Football, castles and stately homes. Of the 30 million overseas visitors who came to Britain last year, 5.8 million visited a castle, 5 million an historic house and 6.4 million a religious monument such as a cathedral.