The Queen and her entourage have 10 palaces, castles and homes to choose from when travelling around the realm or working in the capital.
Her Majesty's official residence in London is Buckingham Palace, but she also owns Balmoral Castle in Scotland and Sandringham House in Norfolk, which she inherited from her father.
Her relatives are spread out between Clarence House, Marlborough House Mews, the residential and office areas of Kensington Palace, Windsor Castle and related buildings, and Hampton Court Mews and Paddocks.
Tour Dates
The best clue for "loyal subjects" trying to keep track of the monarch is to look out for the Royal Standard flying on flag poles at the palaces, or to keep a note of the annual calendar of engagements.
The Royal Family regularly spend Christmas at Sandringham House and make it their official base until February each year.
The Queen spends Easter at Windsor Castle and travels to Edinburgh in June to spend a week enjoying the delights of the Palace of Holyroodhouse.
The Queen returns to Scotland between August and September to her private Balmoral estate spread across 4,500 hectares of hill, woodland and small tenant farms
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said the travel reflected how the official year is split up.
He said the fact that the Queen was away did not mean the palaces were empty.
"Buckingham Palace is not simply a single use dwelling for her on her own," he said.
"It is the official residence of the head of state, is used for entertaining and many other people live here."
Monarchy money
The cost to the British taxpayer of the upkeep of the Royal family is always a bone of contention for anti-royalists.
Parliament provides a £7.9m Civil List to meet the official expenses of the Queen's household so she can fulfil her role as Head of State and the Commonwealth. She also receives about £18m travel funding so she can get to them.
The palaces' maintenance and upkeep, around £15m, is also met by the government in return for the net surplus from the Crown Estate which amounted to £113.2m in 1997/98.
The Queen has her own private income, derived from her personal investment portfolio, to spend on her self.
The Lord Chamberlain said in 1993 that estimates of £100m and upwards were 'grossly overstated'.
The wealth of art treasures, furniture, jewellery and palaces are publicly owned, and cannot be sold by the Queen but must pass to her successor as sovereign.