The Queen may have to move out of Buckingham Palace to allow maintenance work costing £150m to be carried out. It is one option being considered by the royal household, which says the palace needs new plumbing and wiring and has not been decorated since 1952. It comes as the Crown Estate, which owns property on behalf of the Queen, returned record profits of £285m to the taxpayer last year. The publication of the royal accounts can be an uncomfortable time for palace officials. Under scrutiny is the way the Royal Family spends public funds. The palace puts the cost of funding the royals at 56p per person in the UK. It's a figure Sir Alan Reid, the keeper of the Privy Purse described as excellent value for money. Royal sources reported significant amounts of asbestos needed to be removed from Buckingham Palace in a project described as a fundamental re-service.