Prince William's refurbished apartment provides a lesson in newspaper spin

Spot the difference. Report one: Daily Mail, Saturday, 21 June, page 5, by Rebecca English:

"The cost to taxpayers of refurbishing the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's Kensington Palace apartment has quadrupled – to £4m.

Building work on the 22-plus room home has soared by £3m in the last year and includes the bill for William and Kate's new kitchen and several bathrooms, the Mail can reveal.

The vast project has seen Apartment 1A, which had been used as office space since the death of Princess Margaret, transformed into a 'family home'.

Although the couple are personally paying for all fixtures and fittings like curtains, carpets and furniture, the cost of building their new bedroom and even Prince George's nursery has come from the public purse.

One courtier last night insisted that the Kensington Palace project actually offered taxpayers 'great value' given the state of the crumbling apartment.

But questions will be asked as to whether Buckingham Palace, which has forked out for the refurbishment, is spending public money wisely."

Report two: Mail on Sunday, Sunday, 22 June, page 21, by Charlotte Griffiths:

"When the cost of refurbishing their magnificent home at Kensington Palace threatened to spiral out of control, there was only one course of action for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge – turn to the 'Bank of Dad'.

I can reveal that Prince Charles agreed to foot the £1.5m cost of fitting out the couple's cavernous Apartment 1A with curtains, carpets and furniture – meaning that thanks to his generosity, the overall bill for work at the Palace is £5.5m.

One of the biggest expenses was renovating the main kitchen, according to sources.

I'm told the bill was a staggering £170,000, and although taxpayers paid for structural work, Charles paid for the rest...

Taxpayers have footed the £4m structural repair bill for the four-storey apartment, which used to be the home of Princess Margaret and was later used as offices.

It was last refurbished in 1963 and needed to be virtually gutted before it could be made habitable.

Removing asbestos from the Sir Christopher Wren-designed building cost £500,000, while renewal of the roof cost a further £400,000.

The bill for rewiring, plumbing and other structural work was £1m, and the remaining £2m went on replacing floorboards, and repairing walls in the 22-room apartment, which will accommodate William, Kate and their baby son George.

A spokesman for Prince Charles said William and Kate 'were at pains to ensure that the specification is not extravagant'."

It's a small lesson in newspaper spin. Daily Mail negative versus Mail on Sunday positive.

Republicans will doubtless point out that the end result is the same: oodles of public money spent on the most privileged family in the land. And they may also be forgiven for wondering whether the Daily Mail is their new best friend.