British Monarchy Spends the Most on Palace Renovations

Queen Elizabeth II, the British monarch, passed away at the age of 96 on Thursday, September 8, 2022. She held the throne for the longest period in British history.

In the latter years of Queen Elizabeth II's reign, the British monarchy spent a significant amount on property maintenance, including new roofing, renovations, redecoration, and other repairs to royal palaces.

"The electrical wiring, plumbing, and heating at Buckingham Palace have not been updated since the 1950s, and a 2017 report identified that the building's infrastructure required urgent repairs," stated the British monarchy in its *The Sovereign Grant and Sovereign Grant Reserve Annual Report and Accounts 2021-22*.

"(The palace repairs were) to avoid hazards such as fire or flood, which could damage the building and the Royal Collection of art," it continued.

According to the report, the British monarchy's expenditure on property maintenance has steadily increased over the past five years, consistently representing the largest portion of its overall spending.

For the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022, the British monarchy spent £63.9 million (approximately Rp1.09 trillion) on property maintenance.

This constituted approximately 62% of the monarchy's total expenditure for the 2022 fiscal year, which amounted to £102.4 million (approximately Rp1.7 trillion).

Expenditure on property maintenance in 2022 was also three times higher than in 2018, when the maintenance budget was only £22.6 million.