Following a public debate over who should fund the rebuilding of the Castle, the Queen agreed to pay 70 per cent of the £36.5m cost herself, and opened Buckingham Palace to the public for the first time to generate extra income.
As part of a deal with the then prime minister, John Major, she also agreed to pay income tax for the first time and trimmed the civil list to herself, the Duke of Edinburgh and the Queen Mother.
The summer opening of Buckingham Palace has been a huge… (View original article)