Queen Elizabeth has personally approved the hiring out of St James’s Palace during the 2012 Olympics.
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Rooms and apartments in the palace, including the Throne Room, Tapestry Room, and Queen Anne Room will be rented to private companies for up to £30,000 a day after the plans were approved by the queen.
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: “All the monies raised will be able to supplement the Sovereign Grant and will be spent on the upkeep of the royal residences.”
The palace is in a prime spot for a number of the Olympic events which will take place in London next year, including beach volleyball, which will be held in nearby Horse Guards Parade, and the marathon, which will start and finish in The Mall.
All of the available dates for hire have already been sold, and the people hiring them may be in with a chance of spotting a member of the royal family, as the palace is home to Princess Anne and her niece Princess Beatrice. Clarence House, the home of Prince Charles, is also within its grounds.
Historian David Starkey told the Daily Mail: “We are in an age where everything is up for sale so we should not be surprised when the monarchy jumps on the bandwagon.”
St James’s Palace is still the official residence of the monarch, although no king or queen has lived there since 1837.
