Buckingham Palace to get £369m refurbishment

Tony Johnstone-Burt, Master of the Queen's Household said that by making the investment now, "we can avert a much more costly and potentially catastrophic building failure in the years to come".

The Treasury said an "urgent overhaul" of the palace was needed to prevent the risk of fire, flood and damage to both the building and the priceless Royal Collection of art belonging to the nation.

Pointing to the damage Windsor Castle had suffered from a fire in 1992, the Treasury said: "The restoration took more than five years, and it is estimated that similar damage to Buckingham Palace could cost up to £250m for a single wing."

According to the Royal Household, the palace's boilers are more than 33 years old and spare parts for them are difficult to source.

Much of the wiring is considered to have the "very real risk of fire and failure", while the majority of the mechanical and electrical systems are at least 40 years old with failure an "ever increasing risk", it said.

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