An 18-carat gold toilet has been plumbed into Blenheim Palace for visitors to use, but they’ll have to respect a strict time-limit.
The lavatory, created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, will go on display at the Oxfordshire stately home in September.
The fully-functioning throne will be open for public use, but a three-minute time limit will be imposed to reduce queue times.
It has been placed opposite the room where Winston Churchill was born, and visitors will be able to book their time-slot in advance.
There will be 20 slots an hour for art, or lav, lovers to choose from, provided they buy a £27 ticket for the palace, park and gardens.
When the lavatory first opened at New York’s Guggenheim museum in 2016, it was so popular that people queued for hours to place their cheeks upon its glittering seat.
Some 100,000 used it for its intended purpose, according to The Times.
The piece previously made headlines in 2017 when it was offered on loan to Donald Trump.
The US president had initially asked the museum to lend him an 1888 Van Gogh painting, but it rejected the request, offering Cattelan's golden masterpiece, titled ‘America’, instead.
The flushable America arrived at the Marlborough family’s 300-year-old country home, last week, ready for a contemporary art exhibition that will open next month.
The Duke of Marlborough’s half-brother and founder of the Blenheim Art Foundation Edward Spencer-Churchill told the Times: “Despite being born with a silver spoon in my mouth I have never had a s*** on a golden toilet, so I look forward to it.”
The artwork is valued at more than £1million, but the palace appears relaxed about security.
“It’s not going to be the easiest thing to nick,” Mr Spencer-Churchill said.
“Firstly, it’s plumbed in and secondly, a potential thief will have no idea who last used the toilet or what they ate. So no, I don’t plan to be guarding it.”
The toilet will be on show at Blenheim from September 12 to October 27, and will be sat upon by an estimated 6,000people.
