The Royal Squeeze

摘要

The lawn was a perfect emerald green, the roses were in lush bloom and the palace-well, it is Buckingham Palace. As I trooped through the entrance galleries earlier this month, it looked as polished and elegant as ever. But these are not the best of times for the Windsors: Queen Elizabeth II is looking for cash to redecorate the palace's State Rooms, which haven't been spruced up since she took the throne in 1952. And she is short an estimated $64 million to carry out less glamorous projects, like asbestos removal, rewiring and roof repair. It seems that Herwhy can't the Queen dip into her own purse? Apparently, that just isn't the way it's done. Buckingham Palace is a public building (even though public access to it is certainly limited). "The Queen would not spend personal money on a public building," a palace spokesman explained. She does, however, foot the bills for private royal residences like her vacation home in Balmoral, Scotland. She also supports three of her four children. Prince Charles, the oldest and the heir to the throne, gets income from the Duchy of Cornwall.