Queen faces a costly £86 million repair bill for Prince Charles’s London home

Queen faces a costly £86 million repair bill for Prince Charles’s London home Clarence House as it gets set for a New Year makeover

  • Royal staff have applied for permission for an urgent ‘major repair programme’
  • Works will be paid for from Government’s annual Sovereign Grant to the Queen 
  • ‘Substantial repairs’ required on the north side of the mansion in St James’s

Prince Charles’s official London residence is set for a costly makeover in the New Year

Prince Charles’s official London residence is set for a costly makeover in the New Year.

Royal staff have applied for permission to carry out an urgent ‘major repair programme’ on Clarence House, which dates from the early 19th Century.

The works will be paid for from the Government’s annual Sovereign Grant to the Queen, set at £86 million next year.

In planning documents submitted to the City of Westminster Council, architects outline the ‘substantial repairs’ required on the north side of the mansion in St James’s.

A heritage statement says that ‘areas of the render are failing and there are cracks and damage to decorative mouldings’. 

It adds: ‘If the works are not carried out, the render will continue to fail and eventually the appearance of the building will be compromised.

Royal staff have applied for permission to carry out an urgent ¿major repair programme¿ on Clarence House (pictured), which dates from the early 19th Century

Royal staff have applied for permission to carry out an urgent ‘major repair programme’ on Clarence House (pictured), which dates from the early 19th Century

‘The failure of the render could also compromise the underlying structure leading to more substantial issues.’

The architects from Purcell, based in Canterbury, warn that the property’s west facade will then need similar repairs.

And they add that ‘repairs will also be undertaken to damaged moulded elements of the facade’.

A summary of the work states there will be a ‘removal of the existing paint finish’ followed by repair of the render, reinstating lost profiles and adding ‘new lead weatherings’ to the cornices.

Clarence House currently has a two-tone colour scheme, with the walls described as ‘putty’ colour and the architectural detailing ‘off-white’.

The works will be paid for from the Government¿s annual Sovereign Grant to the Queen, set at £86 million next year. Pictured: President Donald Trump and his wife Melania arrive for tea with Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall at Clarence House

The works will be paid for from the Government’s annual Sovereign Grant to the Queen, set at £86 million next year. Pictured: President Donald Trump and his wife Melania arrive for tea with Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall at Clarence House

The property was built as a villa for the Duke of Clarence between 1825 and 1827 to a design by architect John Nash.

The house was the Queen Mother’s residence before Prince Charles took over in 2003.

It is understood the repairs will begin next year after a tendering process to provide best value.

Clarence House was the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh’s home when they were first married and Prince Charles was brought up in the stately home by his parents until the age of three.

The royal accounts reveal the £2.4million spent on revamping Harry and Meghan's new home, the costs of running Charles and Camilla's household and the amount the Queen spent on travel in 2018/19

The royal accounts reveal the £2.4million spent on revamping Harry and Meghan’s new home, the costs of running Charles and Camilla’s household and the amount the Queen spent on travel in 2018/19

It served as the official residence for Prince William from 2003 until his 2011 marriage and for Prince Harry from 2003 until 2012, and is now the much-loved London home of Charles and Camilla.

When the couple moved in 15 years ago, Charles’s Royal Standard was raised above the 19th-century building.

A major renovation project by Charles’ interior designer Robert Kime cost £4.5 million at the time, and was paid for by taxpayers from grant-in-aid set aside for palace maintenance.

Charles reportedly used £1.6 million of his own money for extras, and also paid for the decoration of two rooms to be used by his ‘companion’ and now wife, formerly known as Camilla Parker Bowles.

A summary of the work states there will be a ¿removal of the existing paint finish¿ followed by repair of the render, reinstating lost profiles and adding ¿new lead weatherings¿ to the cornices. Pictured: Prince Charles meets with Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte

A summary of the work states there will be a ‘removal of the existing paint finish’ followed by repair of the render, reinstating lost profiles and adding ‘new lead weatherings’ to the cornices. Pictured: Prince Charles meets with Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte

Clarence House displays much of the Queen Mother’s famous art collection, including 20th-century paintings by John Piper, Graham Sutherland, WS Sickert and Augustus John.

Earlier this year, it was announced that the Queen would spend £500,000 of her own money to repair the lead roof of her Sandringham home which hasn’t been touched since it was built in 1870.

But unlike the taxpayer-funded £2.4 million work on Frogmore Cottage – the Windsor home of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex – it was announced that the replacement of the lead roof would be be paid for by the Queen. 

The Sandringham repairs came just months after Harry and Meghan went under fire for the renovations of Frogmore Cottage.

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