As King Charles dips into reserves, what is the cost of the refurbishment of Buckingham Palace?

The cost of living crisis seems a world away from the royal family, but it would seem that even King Charles has been affected as he has had to dip into reserves. The net expenditure for Buckingham Palace is £107.5 million and this has grown by £5 million this year.

According to The Times, “Aides said that even the monarchy is facing ‘pressure’ during the cost of living crisis, with more than £21 million plucked from royal reserves as they felt the effects of inflation. Staff have been assessing ways to cut costs across the board.’ Among the measures introduced this year, the heating has been turned down at the palace and other royal homes to cut emissions.”

Without question, aside from the coronation, the joining of the royal households, the Platinum Jubilee and the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, the major drain when it comes to costs has been the refurbishment of Buckingham Palace. Although the refurbishment has so far taken seven years, there are still three years to go on the ten-year project.

How much has the Buckingham Palace refurbishment cost?

In 2016, the Treasury announced that Buckingham Palace was to undergo a 10-year refurbishment and it would cost the taxpayer £369m. The BBC reported at the time that “The Royal Trustees, who include the prime minister and chancellor, recommended that the works be funded by a temporary increase in the Sovereign Grant. 

The article goes on to say that “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 film of the Sovereign Grant, which this year (2016) totalled nearly £43m.”

Why did Buckingham Palace need to undergo a 10-year refurbishment?

According to the royal family’s website, the electrical cabling, plumbing and heating for Buckingham Palace has not been updated since the 1950s. It was felt that the most cost effective way of refurbishing it was to create a phased programme of works lasting ten years. The website says that “The programme will realise a series of long term financial and environmental benefits, as well as improvements to visitor access.”

It is incredible to think that the last time Buckingham Palace was reserviced in a major way was in the 1950s and this was in response to the damage that the bombings inflicted on the building in the Second World War.