King Charles and Queen Camilla are currently on a royal tour of Australia and Samoa, but as their trip nears an end, the monarch's thoughts are turning to home - particularly to the works going on at Buckingham Palace.
During a visit to a social housing development in Sydney, a 17-year-old told King Charles he was training to be a plumber, with the King replying: "It's hard to find a good plumber."
The trials and tribulations of finding a plumber is something many homeowners will relate to, but King Charles has a particular knowledge of the difficulty of finding plumbers.
© GettySo much so that Buckingham Palace's plumbing and heating has not been updated since the 1950s, with the residence's website reading: "The building's infrastructure is in urgent need of a complete overhaul to prevent long-term damage to the building and its contents."
The London home of the royals has 78 bathrooms, so we imagine it's a huge job – hence why the palace has allocated 10 years to the overhaul.
The Boiler House
Part of the palace set to be overhauled is the boiler house, situated in the basement at Buckingham Palace. It generates all of the heating and hot water for the residence, yet all of the boilers are over 30 years old.
READ: King Charles' savvy eco changes at Buckingham Palace since the Queen's death
Due to this, the parts are difficult to source and replace, so the works will see the boilers replaced and a new energy centre installed directly into the basement.
The new energy centre will offer increased flexibility of heating solutions for the palace, and will be more environmentally friendly, saving 300 tons of carbon emissions per year.
© GettyThe heating pipework is 60 years old, so also requires a specialist – no wonder King Charles has trouble finding a plumber!
Inside the royal bathrooms at Buckingham Palace
It's not just the plumbing that is antiquated in the royal abodes, but the bathroom décor too.
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Author Shreya Sen-Handley gave an insight into the bathroom at Buckingham Palace when she visited this summer, telling The Asian Age that she mistakenly found herself in King Charles' own lavatory, complete with "pristine black and white tiles on the floor, twirly silver taps, chain flush, mahogany toilet seat and corner pedestal."
© GettyWhile the plumbing may not have been overhauled, Shreya noted the décor was: "Polished and elegant," as well as "understated."
We wonder if the works will include a décor overhaul, too…
