Palace refurb

If Buckingham Palace and Westminster had spent more money on regular maintenance over the years, neither would be in such an awful state now.

Jalima, I accept tourists look st buck house but they don't come to the UK to look at it , more visit the tower

I am not a fan of Royalty, but what would you do.... have the place fall down? If it needs maintenance then it needs it, end of story.As Jalima states it's use is for far more than housing the Queen.

And I do not accept tourists come to this country to see it, yes it's on the list of places to view but if it fell down the tourists would still come here
Have you been to London lately anniebach?

Our Australian visitors went there earlier this year; it is truly astonishing how many people come to look at Buckingham Palace, the Changing of the Guard and hope to catch a glimpse of the Queen.
Then spend money in London, helping the economy.

Truly!

Nelliemoser I agree;
however, I would also point out that, although in the Soviet bloc most people lived in horrible concrete blocks of high-rise flats or in poverty in the countryside, the powers that be lived in some opulence and had their dachas too for a nice break when they felt like it.

And as for Stalin, who died the year that our Queen was crowned:
As the absolute ruler of Soviet Union, Stalin had access to anything and everything he could think of and he often took advantage of this privilege. He had two countryside residences and an apartment within the Kremlin compound. He had a personal train with multiple luxurious cars. He had multiple villas in other parts of Russia, especially the Soci Villa, and took over the Livadia Palace in Crimea
Ceaucescu?
yomadic.com/communist-architecture-romania-parliament-interior/

If the plebs don't like it, then 'disappear them' in their millions.

Or perhaps Trump-light anyone?

I don't agree that Buck house is a symbol of the U.K. And I do not accept tourists come to this country to see it, yes it's on the list of places to view but if it fell down the tourists would still come here

We have so many historical buildings we preserve, loss of some wouldn't matter . We have many sleeping on the streets yet there is no problem with spending millions on one building .

St. James Palace is the official residence of the monarch yet we have Andrews daughters living there

I wonder if this is another example of certain parts of the press trying to stir everyone up, judging by this thread it has. From what I have read the funds will come by increasing the Queens grant from Parliament over the ten year period by an agreed percentage each year. In return for this grant the Queen gives up her rights to other monies which have historically belonged to the Monach.

People support other historic buildings being maintained by NT and Historic England, why not the building which the whole world recognises as a symbol of the UK.

I personally hope we do get a scaled back monarchy like the others in Europe, but the issue of whether we want nationally important buildings to be preserved is an important part of the tourist industry and that is why it gets support.

The queen/monarch privately owns only Balmoral and Sandringham.

Buckingham Palace is owned by the state. It is probably more of an office that anything else. A government function house for entertaining foreign dignitaries heads of state.

To let it collapse would be bad for tourism. Let's let Nelson's column collapse, and the tower of London they all cost lots of money to up keep. Big Ben is practically collapsing as it is.
All our national statues, art galleries, Museums, etc. Why waste Arts grant money reconstructing building The Globe theatre and other such places.
FGS keep some beauty and awe in our country. Or we could go for Stalinist brutalism.

She did choose to be queen, she had a choice get crowned or abdicate

If 'Queenie" grates it is quite deliberate, the only other name I would be willing to use is Liz, but I expect that would be as bad! Both working class names and both familiarities, calling her anything else would give the impression I bought into this antiquated concept of a monarchy
As Queenie has all the advantages of a central London pad she should be prepared to do something to help fund the cost of this.
Why would the repairs coat more if we opened State Rooms to the general public and closed them on State Occasions? Anyway the income earned would help towards costs.

slimmed down? I dont think so have you seen recent photographs of them the numbers go up every year .I'd slim them down...wheres a guillotine when you need one .lolI never refer to the queen as queenie I always call her lizzie ,ridiculous that people have mediaeval titles in this day and age

I agree, Jalima. People who use words like Queenie might try showing a bit of respect towards a woman who has served this country well for most of her life. She did not choose to be Queen. But I agree about the extortionate amount being spent, apparently, on repairs to Buckingham Palace. But the nation own it, not the Queen, and I think it is an asset to London and does attract tourists.
And I would prefer any amount of money being spent on our monarchy or national assets rather that the circus which has just taken place across the Atlantic. How much does all that hullabaloo cost every four years?

I agree Jalima, it's a great shame things have been neglected for so long. The royal family is being slimmed down, and are an asset to the country. Presidency does not equate with economy as Jalima says. The next US president is already moving his family into positions of power.

As for State rooms, close them on State occasions
in which case the repairs would cost even more in the end.

Why does the word 'Queenie' grate so much?
It is like someone referring to DH as my 'hubby'.

Really naff which makes me wonder about people who use those terms.

Ugh!

I don't think it can be open to the public except on guided tours for security reasons trisher - not just the Royal Family's security but that of other visiting heads of state.

Of course, each American First Lady has wanted to put her own stamp on The White House, without all the essential repairs and maintenance.
I expect HM is quite happy to put up with the old curtains and carpets and doesn't want them changed every four or eight years.
No doubt Melania will want everything changed yet again - what price a Presidency?
Is there a Presidential palace anywhere in the world which is in such a bad state of repair.

It is quite embarrassing really.

However, stopping leaks, making repairs to a Grade 1 listed building is going to cost money and because it has been neglected for so long it will cost far more.

A stitch in time saves nine is a good motto.

Greyduster You could have ratings for different reenactments. X rated ones late at night??? Maybe not

Offices? For who? If it's Queenie's private staff lets move them out of London and if it's government there's lots of unused space in Whitehall. As for State rooms, close them on State occasions (there aren't that many) and otherwise let people in. You could do reenactments there as well. Queenie knighting various people might be popular.

Buck House is the offices and state rooms for visitors, not a home!

Quite honestly, if essential planned maintenance had been carried out on a regular basis we would not have this enormous bill now.

No-one ever learns that though do they!

What?? You'd have to censor most of it, trisher! Considering how many children they produced, I'm surprised V&A managed to get out of bed! It would be interesting though !

Some of it is open to the public but only when queenie is on hols in Scotland for a few months every year , not the balcony though ,pity

It's ridiculous. Let's make it a building open to the public and charge if it's such a tourist attraction. Queenie and Phil can have a small apartment for when they are in residence. You could charge extra for standing on the balcony and waving, with a photo as another money spinner. I've suggested having re-enactments before, you could do Victoria and Albert in Buck House.

I am not eager for a president, another election! But the windsors need to move into the 21st century . I remember some years ago it was reported Charles wanted Windsor Castle as HQ, not buck house . They all live out of London anyway

makes my blood boil,when you think of the income they have WHY weren't repairs kept up to date over the years ...like the rest of us do? The monarchy really must end when Lizzie dies ,its out of date and definately out of touch...£369 MILLION for repairs ,talk of a new royal yacht....where will it end.Hardly a caring queen ,when so many of her subjects cant find enough cash to put food in their mouths or a roof over their heads ...and dont get me started on the forces veterans who fight for "queen and country" and are left without support when they come back mentally and physically scarred

Why are we fundraising for Children in Need while our taxes are paying for this upgrading? I think we should reverse this and have a crowd funder or voluntary donations for the DOQ while properly funding services for all via our taxes.