Britain’s Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s home refurbishments have cost £4.5 million.
The royal couple’s ongoing plan to renovate Apartment 1A at Kensington Palace, which used to belong to Princess Margaret, is responsible for one of the largest chunks of Queen Elizabeth’s official royal expenditure over the past year.
Spending from the sovereign grant rose by £2.4 million to a £35.7 million total, with more than a third going on property maintenance, according to The Independent newspaper.
And £3.4 million alone went on the removal of asbestos from William and Catherine’s apartment to make it a safe place to live for 11-month-old Prince George.
An aide justified: "It was a priority. We have a backlog and we prioritise things in terms of the backlog but we also have to prioritise in terms of occupational activities of the royal household.
"In the case of 1A at Kensington Palace we needed to use it … This is the couple’s one and only official residence and it is here they plan to stay for many, many years to come."
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s future family home was last refurbished in 1963 so needs a "significant amount of work" to make it habitable, including new plumbing and electrical wiring, it was revealed during an annual briefing.
However, the total figure could have been much higher had Catherine and William not also paid out of their own pockets – with a little help from Prince Charles.
They forked out for interior furnishings, carpets and curtains, as well as a brand new kitchen to supplement the existing 350 sq ft kitchen for official events, financed by public funds.
Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s £4.5m home refurbishments
