When the royal family chooses to make upgrades, they keep it classy the whole way, even if the price tag seems a little high for the average peasant.
Reportedly, Kate Middleton and Prince William have chosen to make some serious renovations, and all the improvements carried a $6.5 million price tag. The couple have occupied apartment 1A at Kensington Palace for the past year and recently decided that they would need to add a second kitchen to their flat as well as other purposeful refurbishments.
The “apartment” where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge live with their son Prince George is actually a four story home, complete with 30 different rooms and nine bathrooms and was mostly furnished by Kate herself, according to People magazine.
According to the report, most of the renovations were to upgrade and fix “essentials”, such as asbestos abatement and rewiring and plumbing fixes. Previous to the couple moving into the estate, this section of the palace was mostly offices used for official purposes, which is part of the reason for the recent upgrades. The section of the building where these renovations took place has not been worked on in nearly 50 years.
As for the second kitchen, it was designed for the Duke and Duchess to use when they are not entertaining. The original kitchen was designed for official functions and therefore was too vast of a space for the young couple and their son to use. As for furniture, other than what the royal couple purchased on their own, William and Kate chose pieces from the Royal Collection to showcase in their home.
Not everybody is happy about these upgrades, however. Though many of the renovations reportedly were privately funded by the royal family, including Prince Charles, some of the money used was paid for by United Kingdom taxpayers. A palace official told the Daily Mail the following about these recent renovations and the cost associated to them:
Many young couples when doing up houses seek help from their parents or grandparents. There may have been some assistance. The Cambridges were actually extremely sensitive to the fact that public funds were being used to pay for a lot of this work. They understood that it would be a drain on public expenditure and they wanted to minimize that.
The royal family is also privately funding the renovation of William and Kate’s country home, which is located at Queen Elizabeth’s Sandringham Estate. It is a ten bedroom country mansion that was a gift to the couple from the queen. Known as Anmar Hall, the home has a tennis court and a swimming pool.
