Queen happy to move for palace’s £369m facelift
Royal aides told ‘let me know where to go’ as Duke oversees project that will displace the household
‘The Duke is very involved and says that we will learn from our mistakes’
MOST people in their 90s would be at least a little daunted at the upheaval of having to move while their home is renovated.
But when royal aides asked the Queen where she would stay during major works at Buckingham Palace in 2025 – when she will be a year short of her 100th birthday – she simply told them: “Let me know where you would like me to go.”
The monarch’s refusal to cause a fuss may in part be explained by the fact that her 97-year-old husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, who retired from public life last year, is overseeing the £369 million, 10-year transformation project.
A royal household source has revealed just how accommodating the Queen, 92, has been in accepting the need to move apartments within the palace in seven years’ time.
The source 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.’”
The renovation project is already under way, with paintings and chandeliers having been removed from the east wing, under the watchful eye of the Duke.
The official added: “The Duke of Edinburgh was very involved in the 1992 restoration of Windsor Castle. He is keen for us to follow a phased approach in the re-servicing project [at Buckingham Palace], and said, ‘You will learn from your mistakes.’”
Hundreds of artefacts and paintings from the Royal Collection are to be moved away from Buckingham Palace while the work is carried out.
A total of 150 pieces, including clocks, chandeliers and a nine-tiered porcelain pagoda, will be shifted to their original home at Brighton’s Royal Pavilion from next week.
Among that collection are Chinese pieces acquired in the 1800s for the Pavilion, George IV’S seaside residence. Queen Victoria moved them to Buckingham Palace in 1850 and Prince Albert incorporated them into the East Wing. They have been displayed in the Yellow Drawing Room and Chinese Dining Room since then. Tim Knox, the director of the Royal Collection, said: “Decanting an entire wing of a historic building on the scale of Buckingham Palace is a huge undertaking and requires meticulous planning. “We are delighted that around 150 items will return on loan to Brighton’s Royal Pavilion next summer, so visitors can enjoy these extraordinary works in their original home.”
The Prince of Wales is also fully engaged in the renovation project, according to the royal household source, who said that the Prince has expressed a keen interest in making the palace more energy efficient.
In 2010, the Prince installed solar panels on the roof of his London residence, Clarence House.
Although no energy modifications have been confirmed, a senior official confirmed that they had been “looking into everything” to make Buckingham Palace greener, including using similar solar panels to the ones at Clarence House.
The royal official said additional plans were being considered to cut down the palace’s carbon emissions, with the aim of reducing the carbon footprint by 500 tons a year.
Since the restoration began in April last year, 10,000ft of unsafe rubber cabling has been removed, reducing the risk of a “catastrophic” building failure.
Plans to replace more dangerous wiring and boilers will begin next week in the East Wing.
A compound for the workmen will be set up next week on the palace’s forecourt, but it will not get in the way of the Changing of the Guard or state visits and entertaining.
The East Wing houses the Palace balcony, which will remain accessible for the Royal family and in sight for the public.
Officials have promised that the palace’s exterior will not be obscured because they are not using scaffolding. The renovation project is due to be completed in 2027 and its £369 million cost is being funded by a temporary increase in the Sovereign Grant from the Treasury.
The Duke of Edinburgh oversaw a five-year restoration project at Windsor after a fire broke out in November 1992 while maintenance works were being carried out. Many artworks and pieces of valuable furniture were destroyed.