King Charles has turned heaters at Buckingham Palace down to 16C to save on bills
Buckingham Palace is about to get a lot colder after King Charles made a surprising call on its heaters. See what prompted the move.
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Environmentalist King Charles has turned the radiators down to 16C at Buckingham Palace in a bid to make savings to deal with soaring inflation.
The pressures of rising fuel and energy bills, the drawn out refurbishment of Buckingham Palace and the costs connected to the funeral of Elizabeth II has forced the King to dip into its reserves by more than AUD $38 million last year.
It came as the Crown Estate, the land and property portfolio controlled by the sovereign, announced a loss of half a billion pounds (AUD$9,545,859) but revealed that it was planning to build onshore wind farms on royal property.
In line with the public, the palace has been struck with a “one hundred per cent” rise in energy bills prompting his majesty to call for the heating to be turned down.
The annual Sovereign Grant report on royal finances, published on Thursday, reveals there has been a “concerted effort” to reduce the temperature in occupied rooms to 19C and to “educate staff” to turn down the thermostat to 16C in empty rooms.
Heating is also turned down to a minimum during weekends, while gas lamps have been turned off while they wait to be converted to electric.
It has been previously revealed Charles, 74, had lowered the thermostat in the palace swimming pool, leaving staff complaining of feeling the cold.
A palace spokesman said: “His Majesty’s long standing leadership in this space has reinforced this strategic importance of this issue to the household.
“These are the important steps that we’ve taken to reduce our natural gas and heating emissions this year, which is the largest area of our carbon emissions.”
The Sovereign Grant report shows official royal spending rose five per cent during the last financial year to £107.5 million, with its income decreasing by one per cent to £9.8 million, less than half of pre-pandemic levels.
Meanwhile, the Sovereign Grant remains the same as the previous year - £86.3 million, - which includes a £34.5 million for the ongoing Palace refurbishment.
The spokesman said “In real terms with prices going up, in terms of where we’ve had to cut back, where we had to make savings, they are across the board, because we are having to deal with inflation.”
However, he insisted that the royal household would continue to “live within our means and make adjustments accordingly.”
A spokesman said it had been an “exceptional year” for state occasions, with the Platinum Jubilee, the late Queen’s funeral and the preparation for the Coronation, making it a “challenging year” to review expenditure.
He also confirmed that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had now vacated their UK home, Frogmore Cottage.
KATE’S TOUCHING MESSAGE TO WOMEN IN CRISIS
The Princess of Wales has penned a heartwarming message to women coping with life in the justice system as she opened a family-friendly residential centre in Southampton.
The Hope Street Centre founded by Catherine’s friend Lady Edwina Grosvenor, provides an alternative to prison for women which allows them to remain with their children and to receive ongoing support.
Looking radiant in a polka dot Alessandra Rich dress, Catherine called the facility an “inspirational place”.
She spoke to staff as well as women who have had experience of the justice system.
Catherine was given a tour of the building upon arrival and to officially mark its opening, the mum-of-three pinned a handwritten message of support on a tree in the courtyard.
It read: “I see you and I am with you. Good luck in all that lies ahead. Catherine.”
The centre has been designed “by and for women” to create a “welcoming home environment, designed with light-filled communal as well as private spaces”.
It also features a 24-hour hub, onsite creche and play areas for children.
Prison philanthropist and founder and chairwoman of One Small Thing, Lady Edwina Grosvenor, said: “There is a different way that we can deal with women and children in the justice system in this country.
“I wanted to build something and prove that we could do it differently by actually building it.”
WILLIAM REUNITES WITH EX-SPICE GIRL
Catherine’s visit came as part of her campaign to raise awareness of the importance of early years for children, which has seen her help launch the long-term campaign Shaping US with the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood.
Prince William has teamed up with former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell on his whirlwind 48-hour tour of the UK as he launched his new initiative to end homelessness.
The heir to the throne and his charitable Royal Foundation will help give six flagship locations across Britain “space, tools, and relationships” to work on preventing homelessness locally.
Promising a “transformative approach” to the issue, the five-year initiative — dubbed Homewards — will try to create a “tried and tested model that can be scaled across the UK and beyond”.
Halliwell, who is an advocate for the project, joined Prince William in Newport, Wales, as they learnt about how educational facilities can help support children and their families by preventing homelessness through early intervention.
Earlier, Prince William visited locations in Bournemouth and London.
The initiative aims to unlock “unprecedented partnerships” and boost understanding of homelessness, with the program launching alongside new research suggesting that one in five people in Britain have some experience of homelessness.
“In a modern and progressive society, everyone should have a safe and secure home, be treated with dignity and given the support they need,” Prince William said in a statement.
“Through Homewards, I want to make this a reality and over the next five years, give people across the UK hope that homelessness can be prevented when we collaborate.
“It’s a big task, but I firmly believe that by working together it is possible to make homelessness rare, brief, and unrepeated and I am very much looking forward to working with our six locations to make our ambition a reality.”
Homewards will help form locally led coalitions of people, organisations and businesses which will work on preventing homelessness in their areas based on local needs and expertise.
The initiative will also provide access to an unprecedented network of “best-in-class expertise, partners and funders at a local and national level”, Kensington Palace said.
That includes up to £500,000 ($635,000) of flexible seed funding in each location that can be accessed to support the delivery of their action plans, it added.
With AFP
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