 Two major issues for Windsor Castle emerged following the fire . The first was a political debate in Britain as to who should pay for the repairs . Traditionally , as the property of the Crown , Windsor Castle was maintained , and if necessary repaired , by the British government in exchange for the profits made by the Crown Estate . Furthermore , like other occupied royal palaces , it was not insured on grounds of economy . At the time of the fire , however , the British press strongly argued in favour of the Queen herself being required to pay for the repairs from her private income . A solution was found in which the restoration work would be paid for by opening Buckingham Palace to the public at selected times of the year , and by introducing new charges for public access to the parkland surrounding Windsor . The second major issue concerned how to repair the castle . Some suggested that the damaged rooms should be restored to their original appearance , but others favoured repairing the castle so as to incorporate modern designs . The decision was taken to largely follow the pre @-@ fire architecture with some changes to reflect modern tastes and cost , but fresh questions emerged over whether the restoration should be undertaken to " authentic " or " equivalent " restoration standards . Modern methods were used at Windsor to reproduce the equivalent pre @-@ fire appearance , partially due to the cost . The restoration programme was completed in 1997 at a total cost of £ 37 million ( £ 67 million in 2015 terms ) . 
