Queen will ‘split her time between Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace’ after her Balmoral holiday ‘so the public doesn’t question £369m refurbishment of London home’, royal expert claims
- The Queen will split her time between Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace when she returns from her summer getaway at Balmoral, a royal expert claims
- Royal editor Roya Nikkha says Her Majesty will spend more time in London
- Bill for the refurbishment will be met by taxpayers via the Sovereign Grant – the annual fee paid by the Government to the monarch
The Queen will split her time between Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace when she returns from her summer getaway at Balmoral so the public don’t question the £369million refurbishment bill on her London home, a royal expert has claimed.
Her Majesty, 95, has been a her summer home since June, it is her first stay at her beloved Scottish sanctuary since the death of her husband the Duke of Edinburgh in April.
Before her summer trip, she was living at Windsor Castle in Berkshire, but she is expected to spend more time in London on her return.
The Queen will split her time between Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace when she returns from her summer getaway at Balmoral so the public don’t question the £369million refurbishment bill on her London home, a royal expert has claimed
Speaking to True Royalty TV’s The Royal Beat, royal editor Roya Nikkhah, said: ‘I think the plan is for her to stay at Windsor.
‘I expect we will see more activity with her back at Buckingham Palace as we approach the Platinum Jubilee next year.
‘I think she will resume residence again at Buckingham Palace in order to justify the £369,000,000 refurb.
‘[Otherwise] many people would [think] ‘what’s the point’ of the [refurb].
The bill for the refurbishment will be met by taxpayers via the Sovereign Grant – the annual fee paid by the Government to the monarch – which this year came to £42million – with a third of the cash set aside for maintaining Royal palaces
Earlier this year, The Queen decided to carry on with her Balmoral holiday after a staff member at the Scottish estate tested positive for coronavirus.
Her Majesty, who is double-jabbed, decided to stay in Scotland ‘get back to normal’ following the death of Prince Philip.
Buckingham Palace restoration: Who’s footing the £369million bill?
The works will cost the taxpayer millions as the total bill is expected to reach £369million.
The Sovereign Grant, which comes from general taxation, will be hiked up during renovation period to cover the costs.
And while there has been complaint about the taxpayers footing the bill, the palace will continue to operate as usual, generating millions for the economy through tourism and events.
The Queen currently gets an amount which is equivalent to 15 per cent of the profits from the Crown Estate, but this will increase to 25 per cent.
Buckingham Palace, originally Buckingham House, was built in 1703 and has been extended out ever since.
But many of the wires and inner workings which keep it functioning are becoming old and in need of replacement – hence the huge project.
The master of the Queen’s household overseeing the £369 million refurbishment of Buckingham Palace has vowed to stay within budget and time on the gigantic project.
The monarch, who once described the virus as a ‘plague’ sweeping the planet, had a castle-full of relatives visiting this summer including Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, Princess Beatrice and husband Edoardo Mozzi, and Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their children also came to stay.
Scotland has been a welcome retreat for the royal family since Queen Victoria’s day, with the Windsors relaxing and enjoying country pursuits in the stunning setting of the Scottish Highlands.
Meanwhile, the renovation work at her London home is being carried out in the Palace’s East Wing, which aims to make its plumbing, heating and electricity cabling more cost-efficient.
The Wing has been stripped of its flooring, furniture and 3000 pieces of artwork and artefacts, and its floorboards will all be lifted ahead of the reservicing of the old pipes and wires in the palace’s biggest refurbishment since before the Second World War.
The bill for the refurbishment will be met by taxpayers via the Sovereign Grant – the annual fee paid by the Government to the monarch – which this year came to £42million – with a third of the cash set aside for maintaining Royal palaces.
It comes as The Queen today led tributes to the victims and survivors of 9/11 on the 20th anniversary of the attacks.
In her heartfelt message to President Joe Biden, the royal reflected on her visit to the site of the attack back in 2010.
She said: ‘As we mark the 20th anniversary of the terrible attacks on September 11 2001, my thoughts and prayers, and those of my family and the entire nation, remain with the victims, survivors and families affected, as well as the first responders and rescue workers called to duty.
‘My visit to the site of the World Trade Centre in 2010 is held fast in my memory.
‘It reminds me that as we honour those from many nations, faiths and backgrounds who lost their lives, we also pay tribute to the resilience and determination of the communities who joined together to rebuild.’
The Royal Beat is available on True Royalty TV
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