On one's uppers! Down to her last £320m, a Palace official complains that the Queen has to 'patch and mend'

13 April 2012

The Queen published her financial public accounts, showing how the royal family has been hit by soaring bills


The Queen is said to be furious at being forced to live a 'patch and mend' existence as her palaces crumble around her.

Aides say the rising cost of living means she cannot pay for long-overdue redecorating and rewiring in the state rooms at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle.

They have not been painted since she came to the throne 56 years ago and the electrics at the palace are untouched since 1948.

There are also problems with leaky roofs, asbestos contamination and damaged guttering. The parlous state of the royal buildings was revealed as the Queen's accounts were released for the year to April. The main points of the accounts were:

  • The cost to the taxpayer of the Royal Family last year was £40million  -  equivalent to 66p per person per year.
  • The Civil List payment to the Queen has risen to £12.7million.
  •  The cost of royal travel shot up to £6.2million last year.
  • Aides claim there is a £32million 'black hole' in the budget for essential palace maintenance.

The Government has consistently refused to help meet the cost of buildings refurbishment despite reports that a lump of masonry narrowly missed Princess Anne last year as she was getting into her car at Buckingham Palace.



Royal finances are now also being hit by the credit crunch, which has exacerbated the refusal to give her any more money for repairs.

Sources close to the Queen admitted she is growing increasingly concerned about the crisis and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's stonewalling of requests for extra funds.

When she was told that parts of the Quadrangle at the front of Buckingham Palace were falling down and needed urgent repair, the Queen is said to have wrung her hands and asked: 'But do we have enough money for it?'

Emergency repairs: Scaffolding in the Quadrangle of Buckingham Palace, where masonry has fallen

Emergency repairs: Scaffolding in the Quadrangle of Buckingham Palace, where masonry has fallen

'It's something Her Majesty keeps on saying,' one senior official said. 'The Queen is very concerned about the deterioration to her palaces and is well aware how serious the situation is.'

Privately, aides say the Queen feels she is a custodian of the buildings for the nation and is angry at being ignored by ministers.

Sir Alan Reid, Keeper of the Privy Purse, admitted yesterday that the cost of the monarchy is now rising at almost twice the rate of inflation, reversing years of falls in real terms.

Last year's bill to the taxpayer of £40million does not include the cost of security provided by the Army and police.

The Queen also received a £500,000 'pay rise'  -  taking her Civil List payment from the Government, used to fund her official duties, to £12.7million.

That is an inflation-busting increase of 4.1 per cent.

But Sir Alan stressed that the cost of the monarchy of 66p per person per year is less than the price of two pints of milk.

'It reflects the continuous attention the Royal Household pays to obtaining the best value for money in all areas of expenditure,' he said.

The increased cost can largely be attributed to greater expenditure on property maintenance and travel, which saw the Queen spend £414,000 on a five-day official trip to the U.S. last year.

Although she is ranked as one of the wealthiest women in Britain with a personal fortune of £320million, only a small proportion of this is cash and the upkeep of her residence is funded by a government grant.

She now has £15million to last her over the next three years but staff claim they have seen a drop in the grant of 70 per cent in real terms and now need almost double that.

'With no increase in funding for 12 years the backlog in essential maintenance projects has continued to grow and is estimated at £32million,' Sir Alan said.

'This does not include any allowance for projects such as the redecoration of the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace, most of which were last redecorated before the Queen's reign.'

A senior official added: 'There is an area the size of two football pitches of lead roofing that need replacing at Windsor and some of the guttering at Royal Mews is on its last legs.

'We have had to patch and mend, but there will come a time that we can't do that any more.

'Part of the problems is that like many old buildings, the palaces are riddled with asbestos so it is never a simple job.

'Even the DCMS's own consultants agree that just patching up is not a cost-effective way to operate.'


The latest Royal Public Finances Report highlights a number of areas where work is desperately needed, including replacing the slate roofs at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle for £16million and updating the heating and electrical services for £2.4million.  

Leaks in the roof of the palace's picture gallery have been identified as a threat to works by masters such as Rembrandt.

One senior official said they were pessimistic about their chances of getting any more money in the future, however, not least because DCMS funds were being earmarked for the 2012 Olympics.

'Given the experience we've had in the last ten years, we cannot be optimistic,' said the official.

'We haven't received anything despite putting forward what we thought was persuasive claims for the money.'

A DCMS spokesman said: 'All departments have had to take tough decisions about where to direct their spending.'

Like her subjects, the Queen has been hit hard by soaring prices but sources say she has been determined to lead by example and has personally helped to draw up a series of canny money-saving measures.

These include turning the palace lights off  -  'the Queen takes a very strong lead on this one,' revealed one courtier  -  to switching off the main boilers at Windsor Castle over the summer to reduce gas consumption.

Despite soaring domestic fuel bills this has seen the royal household save 7.3 per cent on electricity and see no increase in gas consumption.

Palace officials have also been buying their energy up to nine months in advance at a discount price and the move looks likely to pay off as bills are predicted to rise by up to 40 per cent this winter.

Graham Smith, spokesman for the anti-monarchy organisation Republic, said there was an urgent need for reform.

'As the British people are being told to tighten their belts because of the credit crunch, the Windsor family digs deeper into the taxpayers' pockets,' he said.

'This increase in royal spending still ignores numerous other costs and the total bill for our head of state is at least £150million, making an average royal around 17 times more expensive than a working MP.'

But Mike Warburton, tax partner at Grant Thornton, said: 'It is clear that the Queen has a pretty firm grip on her finances.'

Prince Philip, the Queen and and William Farish, former American Ambassador to Great Britain, at the Kentucky Derby last month

Prince Philip, the Queen and and William Farish, former American Ambassador to Great Britain, at the Kentucky Derby last month

A £22,000 day at the races

The Queen spent £22,849 hiring a helicopter to watch the Kentucky Derby during her state visit to the U.S. last year.

Her trip in May enabled her to fulfil a long-held ambition to visit the world-famous race.

The cost of transporting her entourage there is likely to raise eyebrows, however.

Although it was classed as an official engagement, the tour was ostensibly organised to mark the 400th anniversary of the first permanent English settlement in the U.S. in Virginia and to meet President Bush in Washington.

The entire five-day trip cost more than £414,000, the single most expensive by any member of the Royal Family last year.

A senior royal aide defended the cost, saying: 'I think it is still reasonable to expect our head of state to travel with dignity and in some comfort, as befitting the 82-year-old monarch.'

The cost to the taxpayer of the Royal Family's travel as a whole went up by £600,000 to £6.2million - close to an 11 per cent rise.

Of that £4.8million was spent on chartering planes and helicopters.

Prince Andrew's most expensive trips were to the U.S. in February where he spent more than £140,000 in flights and a staggering £250,000 in the Far East in March, despite travelling with a relatively minimal entourage.

As revealed last month, Charles and Camilla spent £210,000 hiring a yacht for their official tour of the Caribbean in March.

Diana's flat

Princess Diana's former apartment at Kensington Palace has been turned into offices for her ex-husband at a cost of £500,000.

The rooms, which have lain empty since Diana's death in 1997, have been refurbished as a base for four of Prince Charles's charities.

In the months after the accident, Apartment 8-9 was cleared of the princess's personal effects by her sister, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, and butler, Paul Burrell.

Items of furniture which belonged to the Royal Collection have since been distributed amongst other members of the Royal Family or been put into storage.

The rooms are now the headquarters for the Prince's Foundation for Children and the Arts, Prince's Drawing School, Prince's Teaching Institute and Youth Business Interaction.

Building works have included the removal of asbestos, replacing the gas-fired central heating system, rewiring, and installing new telephone and data cabling.

The whole apartment has also been redecorated.

The charities concerned will be paying an undisclosed commercial rent which should cover the cost of the works within seven years, Buckingham Palace said.

In March, Prince Charles took the Royal Train to the Black Swan pub in Ravenstonedale, Cumbria at a cost of £18,916

In March, Prince Charles took the Royal Train to the Black Swan pub in Ravenstonedale, Cumbria at a cost of £18,916

Charles's £18,000 pint

Prince Charles enjoyed one of the most expensive pints in history when he visited a pub in Cumbria at a cost of £18,916.

In March, he took the Royal Train to Penrith before being driven to the Black Swan in Ravenstonedale as part of his 'Pub Is The Hub' initiative, which has helped to regenerate 300 locals.

The Royal Train, with its distinctive maroon carriages, has been in use since 1977 and its cost has always raised eyebrows.

This year it was used 19 times at an average cost of £26,315.

Charles used it 13 times in all --the most expensive trip being a three-day visit to Wales last June which cost £43,258.

He also travelled from Aberdeen to Liverpool and then Euston in April at a cost of £40,513.

The Queen's most expensive trip was between Windsor and Euston via Liverpool in December to watch the annual Royal Variety Performance. It cost £23,750.

A senior royal aide said: 'We do acknowledge that it is expensive but we still believe it provides value for money, especially considering it negates the need for hotels and extra security staff. It also enables the most senior members of the Royal Family to carry out evening engagements followed by further engagements the following morning.

'We are continually looking at ways to use it more frequently, however, and this year it was used 19 times, up from 11 previously.

'It is also the first train in the country to use bio-fuel.'

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