Prince William and Catherine's home gets $1.6 million makeover before baby Prince William and Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge's home at Kensington Palace is undergoing a $1.6 million makeover before the birth of the royal baby next month. THE Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's Kensington Palace apartment is undergoing a 1-million-pound ($1.6 million) refurbishment to create a home for the couple and their baby. The work was outlined in the royal public finances annual report published today, which revealed the monarchy cost the taxpayer more than 33 million pounds during the Diamond Jubilee year - a rise of just under a million pounds. The Queen's official expenditure increased by 900,000 pounds from 32.4 million pounds during the 2011/12 financial year to 33.3 million pounds in 2012/13. Members of the Royal Family travelled the globe to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee but travel costs for air and rail fell by 500,000 pounds to 4.5 million pounds. A royal aide said: "There was a hell of a lot more travel going on last year and it was done at a lot lower cost because the style in which people were travelling was better value for money." William and Kate's Kensington Palace apartment was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and was the home of Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon. Margaret remained there after their divorce and lived there until her death in 2002. The accounts revealed 600,000 pounds has been spent on internal refurbishments, with much of the funds used to remove asbestos and a further 400,000 pounds spent repairing the roof. A facade depicting the completed restoration covers the scaffolding surrounding the Southern end of Kensington Palace, which is getting a $1.6 million makeover. William and Catherine's baby is due in mid-July and the couple are expected to move into the apartment when the refurbishment is completed in the autumn.