The Queen has sent a resounding message to Britain’s labourers - it’s time to get back to work.
Her Majesty has instructed a team of builders to resume work on the £369 million refurbishment of Buckingham Palace now that the Government has eased lockdown measures.
The 94-year-old monarch has wasted no time in ordering the swift restart of the project which was stalled as workers were confined to their homes by the coronavirus pandemic.
Her decisive stance echoes Boris Johnson ’s call for Britain’s workers to return to work this week to try and drive the country out of its economic turmoil.
She has sought to set an example to the country by calling for a resumption of the major reservicing project after a seven-week halt.
The 10-year taxpayer-funded project to give the Queen’s official London residence a facelift and make it fit for the 21st century had to be put largely on hold when Boris Johnson brought in Covid-19 restrictions on March 23.
Contractors were told not to travel to the palace to work and much of the project was shut down, although some jobs, including designing, procurement and planning, were done remotely.
But the renovation and refurbishment work inside the palace has now restarted. In fact it resumed on May 4 even before Boris Johnson went on television on May 10 and urged construction workers to return to work.
A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said: “After a temporary suspension, reservicing programme operations have safely restarted at Buckingham Palace.
“Operations have begun in a phased manner to allow for effective social distancing across the sites. With the wellbeing of staff and relevant government advice in mind, a limited number of contractors have been permitted on site initially.
“Additional work has been continuing remotely wherever possible, including progressing with designs, procurement and planning for future stages of the project.”
Palace officials had been looking for clear signals from the Government after mixed messages in the early days of lockdown over whether “non-essential” construction sites should remain open. But they are now confident that the reservicing project can be resumed safely while adhering to Government guidelines.
At the same time the Queen and other members of the Royal Family have undertaken all their official engagements remotely since March 23 to avoid sending mixed messages and contradicting Government guidance, as they believe they can continue to work from home.
Aides say that is unlikely to change in the near future. At 94 the Queen is in a vulnerable group and is expected to stay cocooned with Prnce Philip, 98, and a much-reduced retinue of staff at Windsor Castle.
Prince Charles and Camilla are likely to remain at Birkhall on the Balmoral estate while the Scottish government under Nicola Sturgeon is telling people north of the border to stay at home. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are holed up at Anmer Hall, their country retreat in Norfolk, with their children. Other members of the Royal Family have remained at home during the pandemic restrictions.
Until the crisis Royal Household officials had prided themselves on sticking rigidly to the Buckingham Palace reservicing timetable but the six-week lay off is likely to now put the project behind schedule.
The Covid-19 crisis may also have financial implications for the project after forcing officials to abandon the summer opening of Buckingham Palace to tourists and keeping other royal residences, such as Windsor Castle, closed to paying visitors.
That may create a black hole in the royal coffers, as the Royal Collection Trust, the charity that oversees tourism at royal residences, pays a £7 million facility fee to the Royal Household for the privilege of bringing in visitors and a big chunk of it, although not all of it, will be lost. That fee bolsters the £85.9 million the Queen currently receives from the taxpayer under the Sovereign Grant, which is equivalent to 25 per cent of the Crown Estate profits.
Royal finance expert David McClure, author of the forthcoming book Royal Privilege, said: “If the Sovereign Grant loses the income from Buckingham Palace visitors, then one way or another the taxpayer will have to pay for the shortfall.
“Many people wrongly believe that the Sovereign Grant is funded by Crown Estates profits but in reality this is just an index mechanism and it is the taxpayer who foots the bill.
The Crown Estate, a £14.3 billion property empire which has surrendered its profits to the Government since 1760, derives half of its income from commercial rents in the West End of London.
Mr McClure said: “In the next year or two Crown Estate profits are likely to be depressed by the impact of Covid on commercial rents which in turn will have a knock-on effect on how much money the Sovereign Grant receives. In the medium term, the palace may be in for a bumpy financial ride.
“Corona is now hitting the Crown financially. In the short term it will lose the revenue from summer palace visitors but in the long term there’s a bigger danger that foreign tourists will simply not return in the same numbers as before.”
