ST PAUL'S Cathedral is threatening to inject a sour note
into the hundredth birthday celebrations of Queen
Elizabeth the Queen Mother by presenting the Royal
Family with a £15,000 bill for her thanksgiving service
two weeks ago.
The cathedral, which hosted the nation's official tribute
attended by more than 2,000 people, including the Prime
Minister, wants to be reimbursed for the cost of extra
security, printing the order of service and the loss of
tourist revenue while the building was closed for four
hours.
No one at the cathedral has yet dared to send its account
to the Lord Chamberlain, the Royal Household official
responsible for ceremonial occasions. If he refuses to pay
from Palace funds, the Queen could be asked to meet the
bill from her private resources.
Dr John Moses, the Dean of St Paul's, declined to
comment last night on plans to charge for the Queen
Mother's service. Brigadier Robert Acworth, the
cathedral registrar, said: "It is a matter between us and the
Palace. We would dearly have loved to pick up the cost
but we are still talking to the Palace. Until this matter has
been finalised it would be premature to discuss it."
Brigadier Acworth agreed that much of the extra cost,
including fees for musicians and choir, would be covered
by television payments to the cathedral for coverage of the
service. But Ken Stones, St Paul's financial controller,
said: "We lost about 80 per cent of our tourist income that
day, at least £15,000."
A Buckingham Palace official said: "We have had no bill.
We know of no bill. We have never had a bill in the past."
Palace officials could not recall any previous attempt to
charge them for a royal service, including the marriage of
the Prince of Wales in St Paul's in 1981, which cost more
than £500,000.
Officials at Westminster Abbey were surprised last night.
A spokesman said: "As a Royal Peculiar, directly under
the sovereign rather than the Bishop of London, we have
a duty to serve the sovereign." Another abbey source said:
"It is quite normal to charge users for extra costs of a
special service but it is mean to charge for the Queen
Mother. She is patron of the Friends of St Paul's and has
been a devoted supporter of the cathedral for years."