Move out, Ma’am – the builders are coming in!
£369m renovation means Queen must quit her rooms (at 99)
‘Let me know where you’d like me to go’
THE Queen will have to move out of her private apartment because of refurbishment at Buckingham Palace, aides revealed yesterday.
She has been told she will need to leave her suite in the North Wing in 2025 – when she will be 99.
Other members of the Royal Family have already been relocated because of the £369million, ten-year refurbishment programme. Aides are leaving the Queen’s private rooms, which she has occupied since ascending to the throne in 1952, until last to minimise the disruption to her.
Work has already begun on the East Wing. The monarch, whose mother lived to 101, has taken the upheaval in her stride. A senior aide said: ‘The Queen is immensely pragmatic and she wants to stay in the palace. She said, “Let me know where you would like me to go”.’
It is understood that other rooms within the palace will be found for her. Prince Philip, 97, is keeping a close eye on developments, having overseen the rebuilding of Windsor Castle following the catastrophic fire in 1992. Ever blunt, he praised staff for employing a phased approach to the works as ‘you’ll learn from your mistakes as you go’, a royal aide revealed.
Prince Charles, who will inherit stewardship of the palace from his mother, is fully involved and received a private briefing on the works two weeks ago.
The renovations, announced two years ago, will see 200 specialist staff tackle the work, wing by wing, over ten years. Despite the huge cost to the public purse, it has been deemed urgent as much of the palace, including the wiring and plumbing, has not been updated since the 1940s and 1950s, leaving it at severe risk of fire or flooding.
The 30-year- old boilers will be replaced, making the building more energy efficient.
Some 3,000 works of art need to be removed. They will either be displayed elsewhere in the palace and other royal residences or put into storage. A portrait of a young Victoria by William Fowler will be moved to Kensington Palace while a 1770 portrait by Johan Zoffany of two of George III’s children, Princess Charlotte and Prince William, will be hung in the Throne Room.
Around 150 items will be loaned to the Royal Pavilion in Brighton. Admiral Tony Johnstone-Burt, who as Master of The Queen’s Household is overseeing the works, said yesterday: ‘The principal aim is to ensure that Buckingham Palace remains the cultural and historical icon that it is today … more robust, well-equipped and safer for future generations.’ He vowed that it would come in ‘on time, within budget’, adding: ‘ Making this investment in the palace now will … avert much more costly and potentially catastrophic failure of the building in the years to come.’