Buckingham Palace is to undergo a £369m 10-year refurbishment, in which the Queen will remain in residence during the work, to begin next April.
Ageing cables, lead pipes, wiring and boilers will be replaced, many for the first time in 60 years, amid fears about potential fire and water damage.
Tony Johnstone-Burt, Master of the Queen’s Household, said phased works offered the “best value for money” while keeping the palace running. The Royal Trustees, who include the prime minister and chancellor, recommended that the works be funded by a temporary increase in the Sovereign Grant.
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Profits from the independent property business Crown Estates go to the Treasury, which in turn gives 15% of the sum to the monarch in the form of the Sovereign Grant, which this year totalled nearly £43m.
The trustees say the grant should rise to 25% of the profits for the repairs. This would require MPs’ approval.
The Treasury said an “urgent overhaul” of the palace was needed to prevent the risk of fire, flood and damage to both the building and the priceless royal collection of art belonging to the nation.
Pointing to the damage Windsor Castle had suffered from a fire in 1992, the Treasury said: “The restoration took more than five years, and it is estimated that similar damage to Buckingham Palace could cost up to £250m for a single wing.”
According to the Royal Household, the palace’s boilers are more than 33 years old and spare parts for them are difficult to source.
Much of the wiring is considered to carry a “very real risk of fire and failure”, while the majority of the mechanical and electrical systems are at least 40 years old with failure an “ever increasing risk”, it said.
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