Buckingham Palace is the the main working centre for the Royals (Image: Getty)
Russian hackers have forced Buckingham Palace into making major upgrades amid a growing threat from Moscow.
Sweeping upgrades to the Palace’s cybersecurity and IT systems have been approved after officials from the King’s household admitted its ‘ageing’ computer systems need a revamp, reports The i. The move comes as tensions between the UK and Russia escalate, with the US warning on Wednesday (September 2) a ‘limited’ attack from Russia on NATO countries was more likely to happen sooner than the previous estimate of 10 to 15 years.
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Even if such an attack is years away, Russia appears to be emboldened to operate in the ‘grey zone’ of war, launching a drone attack on a Ukrainian plane stationed at Leipzig Airport in Germany. Russia has also previously targeted the Royal Family website, managing to take it offline for around an hour and a half in October 2023.
It’s against this backdrop that Palace officials have decided to spend a portion of the annual Sovereign Grant on upgrading cybersecurity at Buckingham Palace.
“The new level of the grant will ensure that the Royal Household can continue to deal with property maintenance backlogs following some years of constrained funding during the pandemic,” Treasury minister Dan Tomlinson said.
“It will also allow the Royal Household to replace ageing systems to strengthen cybersecurity and to install energy-efficient heating systems.”
The £99.9 million annual Sovereign Grant is the settlement given to the Royals by the government, funded by the taxpayer. Last year, it was worth £137m.
The ‘core element’ of the grant will rise from £72m in 2026 to £99m in 2027 as King Charles and Queen Camilla conduct hundreds of engagements every year, and 100 more than the late Queen Elizabeth II carried out in the final years of her reign.
The aftermath of the drone attack at Leipzig Airport (Image: Getty)
Mr Tomlinson added: “That reflects this bottom-up assessment that has taken place, looking across the needs of the Royal Household and making sure that it is being funded adequately for the work, for the public duties that His Royal Highness the King and the royal family carry out.
“And it is worth pointing out, of course, that those activities have increased significantly in recent years.
“Towards the end of her reign, the late Queen was not carrying out a large number of foreign engagements, and also was hosting a smaller number of state visits.
“The King has increased the engagements that he is carrying out on our behalf as part of his public duties, and that has involved more expenditure in terms of staff costs and making sure that those engagements and the benefits that in terms of the representation of our country and supporting good causes here in the UK can get the funding and the support that they need.”
However, the overall grant will reduce from 2027, as funding for the renovation of Buckingham Palace is removed as work is completed.
Buckingham Palace was contacted for comment on this story.