Buckingham Palace needs £150 million in repairs: 'bits of the building keep falling off'

It's not just the Houses of Parliament that are in urgent need of repairs. Buckingham Palace also needs maintenance work - in the ballpark of around £150 million ($236 million), according to the BBC, citing royal sources.

The Palace, which has not been redecorated since 1952, needs new plumbing, wiring, and the removal of "significant amounts of asbestos," Sky News said.

"Bits of the building keep falling off," former Royal Press Secretary Dickie Arbiter told BBC News.

The overhaul may require the Queen to move to Windsor Castle, 25 miles down the road, while the work is carried out.

The last time the Queen left her London home for a long period of time was during World War II, when she relocated to Windsor with her sister Princess Margaret, according to Sky.

The estimate comes as the Crown Estate, an independent commercial business that manages the Queen's property portfolio, published results for the latest financial year.

The Crown Estate made a profit of £285 million ($449 million), a portion of which is passed to the Queen.

The Queen receives 15% of profits as part of the so-called Sovereign Grant, which means she will get £42.8 million ($67.5 million) this year.

However, Scotland may refuse to give the Queen a portion of the revenue from the Scottish part of the Crown Estate, which would amount to around £2 million ($3.2 million) in lost profits.