The move comes after Queen Elizabeth II, 90, was awarded a 66 percent rise in funding for the palace refurb by Prime Minister Theresa May and Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond.
Thousands are not happy with the announcement during a time of austerity and cuts to housing for vulnerable families and think the royal family should pay for their own expenses.
Mark Johnson, who started the petition, said on the page that “the Crown and its estates should be made to fund its own renovations.”
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“There is a national housing crisis, the NHS is in crisis, austerity is forcing cuts in many frontline services,” Johnson wrote. “Now the Royals expect us to dig deeper to refurbish Buckingham Palace. The Crown’s wealth is inestimable. This is, in a word, outrageous.”
Scottish Nationalist MP Mhairi Black also condemned the government’s agreement to foot the repair bill on Twitter.
“Privileged family receive ultimate home makeover, meanwhile 50’s women can’t get pensions and 1 in 4 children live in poverty,” she wrote.
Privileged family receive ultimate home makeover, meanwhile 50’s women can’t get pensions and 1 in 4 children live in poverty. #ToryBritainpic.twitter.com/M35g9Zmt0z
— Mhairi Black MP (@MhairiBlack) November 18, 2016
Other Twitter users also slammed the move.
Children In Need current total: around £30m
Buckingham Palace repairs: £369m
“Great Britain” ladies and gentlemen
— In-Play Man (@InplayMan) November 18, 2016
Why don’t we give the £369 million to Children in Need first & then do an all night telethon for Buckingham Palace repairs?
— Imandeep Kaur (@ImmyKaur) November 18, 2016
Perhaps the monarchy should try crowdfunding the repairs to Buckingham Palace? #MonarchyInNeed (image creator unknown) pic.twitter.com/MdbqIUrzkh
— Angry Salmond (@AngrySalmond) November 18, 2016
Awks moment Buckingham Palace is spending £369mil on ‘repairs’ & I still can’t walk thru Liverpool for 5 mins w/o seeing a homeless person
— Ruby C M Agate (@RubesAgate) November 18, 2016
Officials, however, warned that there could be a risk of “catastrophic building failure” if the repairs were not carried out, the Guardian reports.
The refurbishment of the palace will be the biggest carried out on the site since World War II. The palace’s boilers, which are 33 years old, 100 miles of electrical cable and 20 miles of lead and cast iron pipework will be the primary focus of the repair plans.