PRINCE William and Kate’s new London flat is undergoing a £1MILLION taxpayer
funded renovation before they move in with their baby, it was revealed
today.
The rooms in the couple’s apartment were home to Princess Margaret. She died
in 2002 and £600,000 has been spent on internal refurbishments, with a lot
of the cost used to remove asbestos.
A further £400,000 has been spent on renewing the home’s roof.
The apartment will be the royal couple’s London base after the birth of their
baby, expected in mid-July.
They are due to move in during the autumn and the cost of decorating the
rooms, which could be substantial, will be met privately and not by
taxpayers.
The royal public finances annual report revealed that the cost to the taxpayer
of supporting the monarchy rose by around £900,000 to £33.3 million during
the Diamond Jubilee year.
But the Palace claimed that net expenditure for 2012-13 was actually a
decrease after inflation – and £3.2 million less than the £36.5 million bill
in 2008-9.
Sir Alan Reid, Keeper of the Privy Purse, said: “The Royal Household has
continued to reduce its expenditure funded by the taxpayer in successive
years since 2008-9, achieving a real terms reduction of 24 per cent over the
last five years.”
The accounts also revealed that the Queen’s official expenditure increased by
£900,000 from £32.4 million during the 2011/12 financial year to £33.3
million in 2012/13.
The taxpayer funds used to pay for official air and rail travel at home and
abroad for members of the Royal Family fell by £500,000 from £5 million in
2011/12 to £4.5 million in 2012/13.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s Diamond Jubilee tour of south east Asia
and the South Pacific was the most expensive foreign tour, costing almost
£370,000 when the cost of a reconnaissance trip by members of their
household was included.
There was also an increase in spending on property maintenance – the upkeep of
royal residences and other buildings – from £8.9 million to £9.1 million.
Payroll costs increased from £17.5 million to £18.3 million.