The Royal Family has shared a glimpse of the multi-million pound refurbishment of Buckingham Palace in a series of Instagram clips.
The short videos reveal different rooms within the Queen’s home being gutted and stripped as part of 10-year renovation works.
Each snippet shows a section of the Palace’s East Wing, accompanied by captions explaining the major reservicing which will help preserve the royal residence for “years to come”.
The rooms, which face central London’s iconic Mall, are undergoing a complete overhaul of their electrical cabling and heating systems which, one clip tells the viewer, will “help make the building more energy efficient and cost effective”.
One of the videos states that such work hasn’t been carried out at the palace since the 1950s, as the camera focuses on old newspapers dating back to 1954 and old packs of cigarettes found during the works.
The bare rooms illustrate how the wing has been stripped of furniture as well as 3000 pieces of artwork and artefacts, while floorboards are seen piled up to make way for new pipes and wires.
The £369 million reservicing bill will be met by taxpayers through the Sovereign Grant – the annual fee paid by the Government to the monarch.
The huge project is necessary, the Royal Family states on its website, “to prevent long-term damage to the building and its contents.”
“The most cost-effective way to replace these essential services, and to ensure that The Palace is fit for purpose for the next 50 years, is to undertake a phased programme of works over ten years,” the statement adds.
“The programme will realise a series of long term financial and environmental benefits, as well as improvements to visitor access.
"The Palace will remain occupied and fully operational for the duration.”
