The Sandringham country retreat of Queen Elizabeth II is being refurbished! Who will foot the bill of £ 500k!
- Frogmore Cottage which is the new home of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was renovated on a large scale before the couple moved in before the birth of their baby Archie.
- But the taxpayers’ money was used for this makeover.
Now the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk belonging to Queen Elizabeth II has extensive repairs ongoing on it. But the Queen is shelling out the money from her pocket.
She is footing the bill for it which is said to go up to £500,000.
Queen Elizabeth II and her Norfolk property repairs
The Norfolk country retreat of Queen Elizabeth II is undergoing extensive repairs. Scaffolding is seen covering more than half of the North end of this estate. This time, the lead roofing will also be changed.
This is the first time that repair work is carried out on the roof which was built in 1870. After the first roof is removed, the new roof will later be craned in.
This property was purchased by Albert Edward, later Edward VII in 1862 to use it as a country home. Adjoining areas were later purchased and the whole royal estate was expanded due to this.
There was a property sitting on this land when the estate was purchased. In place of the old house, a new house was built between 1870 and 1900.
More about Sandringham royal home
These Sandringham royal apartments and Balmoral Castle is the private homes of the Queen. Whereas Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle are listed as royal palaces.
Sandringham House is open to the public to view from April to October. But now since the refurbishments are on, the visitors are met with a sign which apologizes for the disruption.
The sign reads:
“Works are under way on the north end of Sandringham House to repair a large area of lead roofing which has remained untouched since 1870 when the house was built,’
“It is essential we carry out these works at this time of year when the weather is fair.”
The bill for this renovation – who pays?
It is learned that His Majesty has volunteered to pay the bill for these repairs. The sum would come to £ 500k, but the Queen is ready to shell out that huge amount from her pocket. She is not using the taxpayers’ money for it.
But for the renovation of the current residence of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Frogmore Cottage, the taxpayers, money was used. The total renovation came to cost £ 2.4 million. During this refurbishment, the couple’s bedroom bathroom got a £ 5000 copper bath as well.
There is now a designer kitchen in the royal cottage and baby Archie’s nursery was painted using vegan paint. The bathrooms also underwent major changes during this time and a famous interior designer was employed to oversee the work. New wardrobes and storage vaults were also installed.
Short Bio on Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II has been Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand since 6 February 1952. She is Head of the Commonwealth and Queen of 12 nations that have turned out to be free since her increase: Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Kitts and Nevis. More Bio…
Source: The Sun UK