A BBC Question Time audience member has hit out at the high cost of renovating Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's home on the Queen's private estate.
The man questioned whether it was value for money said the Royal Family have "shot themselves in the foot" as the seven-figure renovation was carried out amid cuts to public services.
More than £2million of taxpayer money was used to revamp the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's new home, Frogmore Cottage , in Windsor.
Meghan and Harry moved into the home in April and are now raising their first child, Archie, there following his birth in early May.
The renovations cost £2.4million of British taxpayer money, according to the Royal Family's annual financial report.
The cost has sparked a backlash and campaigners have called for a parliamentary inquiry into the rise in royal spending in times of austerity.
That backlash was highlighted as BBC Question Time was held in Halifax, West Yorkshire, on Thursday.
One member of the audience questioned whether the renovation was value for money.
He asked: “Will I be able to visit and walk around Frogmore Cottage to check my investment as a fully paid-up taxpayer?
“I’m a royalist. I’m not a Republican, but I think the Royal Family here have just shot themselves in the foot when we’ve got all these cuts.”
Question Time panelist Richard Walker, managing director of Iceland supermarkets, defended the Royal Family.
He said: “What an incredible investment the royals are, they’re an essential part of brand Britain.
"It’s amazing value for money.
“I was in America recently and the front page of every single magazine has got the Royals on it.
“As we make our way in the world at a time of Brexit we need parts of brand Britain to be promoted.”
The money for the Frogmore Cottage renovations came from the Sovereign Grant - cash the Queen receives from taxpayers for royal duties.
The total grant was £82.2million ($104.5 million) for 2018/19, equivalent to just over £1.20 per person.
The Frogmore Cottage refurbishment contributed to a total £67million expenditure towards the maintenance of royal palaces and the official duties of the Queen.
Net expenditure soared from £47.4million in 2017/8 to £67million due to an extra £15million for the major reservicing of Buckingham Palace.
Earlier this week, Republic, which campaigns for an elected head of state, hit out at the cost, questioning why taxpayer money had been "thrown" at Meghan and Harry's Frogmore Cottage while public services face financial pressure.
The renovation saw five properties turned back into a single residence for the Sussexes.
The Duke and Duchess - who are taking baby Archie on an official trip to southern Africa later this year - paid for all of the fixtures and fittings.
Graham Smith, of Republic, said this week: "An MP spending taxpayers' money on a private home would probably not be an MP for much longer.
"The general funds of the Treasury should not be spent on individual members of the royal family at all - even if we had all the money to spend on public services it should not be happening.
"The point about public services is it is particularly galling that they're allowed to get away this whilst public services need money."
Speaking on the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme on Tuesday, Daily Mirror associate editor McGuire said: "It matters when so much money is being spent on one family, one couple, when there are so many people in Britain – a million plus people – on council waiting lists.
"There are 5,000 to 6,000 people sleeping rough on the street and we are devoting all this money to a very privileged family. It’s a sick joke."
Sir Michael Stevens, Keeper of the Privy Purse, who is responsible for monarchy's accounts,said of Frogmore Cottage: "The property had not been the subject of work for some years and had already been earmarked for renovation in line with our responsibility to maintain the condition of the occupied royal palaces estate.
"The Sovereign Grant covered the work undertaken to turn the building into the official residence and home of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their new family.
"The building was returned to a single residence and outdated infrastructure was replaced to guarantee the long-term future of the property.
"Substantially all fixtures and fittings were paid for by their Royal Highnesses."
In other royal news, Meghan, Harry and Archie will travel to southern Africa this autumn for their first royal tour as a family.
After stopping in South Africa, on the second part of the trip.
The Duke will travel solo to Angola, Malawi and Botswana.
