It comes as Her Majesty’s land tax bill was slashed by thousands of pounds for her Balmoral shooting estate, causing outrage from Scottish politicians. Planning documents submitted to Aberdeenshire Council by the Balmoral estate reveal the monarch has applied to have a lift installed at one of her properties on the estate.
The elevator is set to be constructed at Craig Gowan House, which the Royal Family uses for short term trips to the estate.
The 94-year-old Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh also stay there in the initial phase of their three-month summer break at Balmoral.
The property was built in 1870 and includes a dedicated “study” for the Duke of Edinburgh along with a drawing room and TV room.
Under the plans, the lift will take the royals from a pantry to a bathroom on the first floor and is directly next to seven bedrooms.
The lift is expected to provide assistance to individuals who may need help with walking up the property’s spiral staircases.
Planning documents reveal how the construction of the lift should be done perfectly, adding: “Please note that nothing can go wrong with this job from start to finish.”
The planning application states of the job: “Installation of through floor lift in Grade C listed building, by removal of sanitary ware and non-load bearing walls, and forming an aperture in first-floor floor, and bulkhead in attic space.”
The monarch’s health is usually a matter not discussed by the palace and rarely comments on her private medical matters.
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The monarch has been isolating with 99-year-old Prince Philip at Windsor Castle throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, new rateable value (RV) or land tax for deer stalking at Balmoral has been valued as £10,800 after palace and estate officials appealed the initial valuation.
The Scottish Assessor, responsible for valuing property for land tax, initially gave the Balmoral estate a £22,500 rateable valuation.
However, the new value is lower than many pubs, shops and restaurants in Balmoral, many of which have closed due to COVID-19.
SNP MP Tommy Sheppard urged the Scottish Government which introduced the policy to act and in a dig at the Queen, said: “It cannot be right that major shooting estates pay less in community taxes than a small pub or restaurant.”
