that 70% of the cost would be met by charging the public for entry into the castle precincts and £8 for admission to Buckingham Palace for the next five years. The Queen contributed £2 million of her own money, and she agreed to start paying income tax from 1993 onwards, making her the first British monarch to do so since the 1930s. Planning On 7 June 1994, details of the restoration project were announced. The architectural firm Donald Insall Associates was appointed by the Royal Household to take overall charge of the restoration, with Sidell Gibson dealing with the reconstruction of St George's Hall and the design of the new Lantern Lobby and Private Chapel. Over half the damaged and destroyed rooms, including the State and Octagon dining rooms, were to be restored as original. There were to be new designs for the St George's Hall ceiling (with steel reinforcing beams in the roof) and East Screen, as well as the Queen's Private Chapel and the Stuart and Holbein Rooms. However, only the Queen's Private Chapel and several modern rooms were to be restored in a modern style. Designs were submitted to a Restoration Committee, whose chairman was Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and deputy chairman was Charles, Prince of Wales. Members included the David Ogilvy, 13th Earl of Airlie (Lord Chamberlain), Sir Hayden Phillips (Permanent Secretary of the Department of National Heritage), Norman St John-Stevas, Lord St John of Fawsley (Chairman of the Royal Fine Art Commission), Sir Jocelyn Stevens (Chairman of English Heritage), Frank Duffy (President of the Royal Institute of British Architects) and three senior palace officials. The fire, catastrophic though it was, presented the opportunity for some major new architectural work. Although criticised by some people who thought it lacked imagination, the architects believed that, given the history of the building and the surviving fabric, the new work had to be Gothic. Execution The state dining room gilded sideboard, 19 feet long and made out of rare rosewood and oak, was originally designed by Augustus Pugin in the 19th century. It had to be replicated by N.E.J. Stevenson using only some photographs and descriptions. New designs for St George's Hall and the Queen's Private Chapel were approved by the Queen on 24 January 1995. Designed by architect Giles Downes, the new roof for St George's Hall is an example of a hammer-beam ceiling. The new chapel