The remodeling of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's new home that cost the taxpayer $ 3 million
The remodel of the new home of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Dukes of Sussex, cost £ 2.4 million of public funds (about US $ 3 million), royal accounting shows.
Frogmore Cottage, a residence made up of five separate zones very close to Windsor Castle, about 34 kilometers west of London, has been converted into a single property for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to live in.
The couple, who moved there from London's Kensington Palace in April, before the birth of their son Archie, paid for the accessories for the house.
Frogmore Cottage is on the grounds of the royal residence Frogmore House, where Harry and Meghan held their wedding reception in May 2018.
They received the 19th century property from the Queen, and the renovation was carried out by the royal allotment.
Works included the replacement of the property's defective wooden ceiling beams and floor beams, as well as the upgrade of inefficient heating systems. The house also required major renovations to its electrical installation and the installation of gas and water pipes.
"The property had not been renovated for some years and had already been selected for renovation," explained Michael Stevens, head of the accounts of the British monarchy.
The renovation works took about six months, although some areas have yet to be completed.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Prince William and Kate Midleton also carried out renovations before moving into their home in Kensington Palace, spending more than $ 5 million to transform offices into an apartment.
Official expenses
Each year the British government allocates resources to the Queen to finance her official duties and to keep the Royal Palaces Occupied (known as the "Sovereign Grant").
The amount for 2018-2019 was £ 82 million (about US $ 103), of which US $ 41 is dedicated to maintenance work, including major works at Buckingham Palace, the official residence of the monarch.
Excluding money being transferred for reserves for future construction works at the palace, the Queen's official expenses last year were £ 67 million (US $ 84 million), an increase of 41% from the previous year.
A large part of the increase is due to the renovations underway at Buckingham Palace, and to work on other occupied royal residences.
The Crown Estate (the commercial arm of Crown Properties), provided some US $ 430 million to the UK Treasury in the 2018-19 financial year, an increase of 4.3% over the previous year.
The actual allocation is financed from the profits made from these properties.
What are Crown Properties?
- An independent commercial property business and one of the UK's largest property portfolios.
- Most of its assets are in London, but it also has properties in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- Most of the portfolio is made up of residential properties, commercial offices, stores, businesses and shopping centers.
The royal accounts also show that the cost of the official travels of Charles and Camilla, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, financed by the royal allowance, rose by almost a third last year to $ 1.63 million, as the couple assumed more obligations that until then belonged to the Queen.
Jonny Dymond, BBC Royal Family Correspondent
The expenses of the British royal family paid by taxpayers have been a sensitive topic for decades.
This is why the Palace officials explained in great detail all the renovations that have been done at Frogmore Cottage and how anything other than basic repairs and alterations will be paid for by the couple themselves.
The Sovereign Grant is used to pay the cost of official duties and maintenance of the royal palaces.
But some may wonder why the couple had to leave Kensington Palace.
And why, if they had such a consistent position on it, did they not pay for the renovation of the house in Windsor themselves.
The "core" of the concession to the royal family is based on 15% of the net surplus of land contributions and royal shares, allocated two years in arrears.
From FY 2017-18, total contributions have increased to 25% of the surplus over a 10-year period, with the intention that the extra funding will cover the £ 369 million (US $ 463) costs of renovating the Palace Buckingham.
Accounts show that the Duke of Edinburgh maintains an office with a private secretary and receives an annuity of more than $ 454,000 from the Treasury. Despite retiring from his public duties in 2017, Prince Felipe maintains an official relationship with hundreds of agencies and charities.
Separately, the Prince of Wales finances the public obligations of Prince Harry and Meghan and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Kate Midleton, and some of their private costs, with income it derives from the Duchy of Cornwall.
These funds, in the year Meghan officially joined the Royal Family, stood at just over £ 5 million (US $ 6.2), 1.8% more than in 2017-18.
