Ailing British monarch plans home refurbishment at taxpayers’ cost
The Queen Elizabeth II, the ailing British monarch who is currently 92, is planning a massive renovation of her historic residence in London with estimates suggesting the project will drain around half a billion dollar of the British taxpayer money.
The Daily Mirror reported on Saturday that the queen would be forced to move out of the Buckingham Palace, the 300-year-old residence she has been living in for the past decades, as the palace is undergoing renovations worth of about $468 million (or £369 million).
The report said the refurbishment of the palace, erected in 1703, would include replacing ageing cables, wires and boilers.
It said there was also the possibility for the monarch and her husband, Prince Philippe, 97, to stay at the palace and relocate to another wing.
The Queen talking about self sacrifice in front of a massive golden piano there pic.twitter.com/pHUQ0zTkeE
— James Felton (@JimMFelton) December 25, 2018
Some media outlets and online users seized the opportunity to joke about the luxurious life-style of the ailing pair in the Buckingham Palace, saying that the giant edifice with its 52 bedrooms will have enough place to house the queen and her husband.
The queen, whose lavish use of public money has repeatedly been criticized by the Britons, is the longest-serving British monarch in history with 67 years in power. Neither she nor her son Prince Charles, who is also 70 and is viewed too old to replace her mother, have shown any intention of abdication in favor of younger heirs to the throne.
Queen reminds us that poor people are having it tough as she sits in a room with a gold piano pic.twitter.com/GecohDQ8Zi
— Janey Godley (@JaneyGodley) December 25, 2018
Queen Elizabeth’s splashing of the taxpayer money for her palace comes as hundreds of thousands across Britain are suffering from severe forms of homelessness, including rough-sleeping. The United Nations said in a report last month that a fifth of the UK population, some 14 million people, live in poverty as a result of nearly a decade of government cuts to social care budget.
The royal family was on the headlines in 2018 with two costly weddings and the birth of two babies while it is expecting another “costly” baby this spring.
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