Renovation of Frogmore Cottage for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex cost taxpayers £2.4m

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex renovated their official residence, Frogmore Cottage, with £2.4m of taxpayers' money. 

Financial accounts, published this morning, show that the Grade II listed building was renovated and refurbished from five homes into one. 

The work started in November 2018 and was substantially completed by March this year, before the birth of the royal couple's first child Archie. 

The Queen's Sovereign Grant from the Treasury was £82m in 2018-19, with £33m set aside for maintenance, including major work on Buckingham Palace.

Official expenditure amounted to £67m, an increase of £19m compared to the previous year. The report says this is mainly due to an increase in expenditure on property maintenance.

A total of £1.7m was spent on Windsor Castle and included structural repairs and heating for the private apartments.

The report reveals £1m was spent on the grand staircase roofing on the north side of the Castle. The scheme began in May 2018 and is due to be completed in June next year. 

A new smaller boiler room dedicated to the private apartments cost £0.7m. 

Another major project was Victoria and Albert Mausoleum in Windsor Home Park which cost £1.4m.

The mausoleum had suffered from structural water damage the project has been divided into two parts.

The first part is to replace the copper roof and the second part will see the excavation and construction of a 'dry moat' around the heating pipework.  The first part of the project began in June last year and was set to be completed in May 2019. 

The Sovereign Grant is funded by profits from the Crown Estate.

The total Sovereign Grant is based on 15 per cent of the profits of the Crown Estate, but allocated two years in arrears, with the 2020-21 grant expected to be set at £85.9m.