A solid-gold toilet is to be installed at the ancestral home of former UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill this autumn.

The 18-karat gold toilet will be set up adjacent to the room where Churchill was born in Blenheim Palace – and will be open to visitors in need of a ‘comfort break.’

The installation is part of an exhibition of the works of Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan – best-known for his satirical sculptures that take aim at society, power and authority.

America

He created the piece, entitled ‘America’ in 2016 and it has been on display at the Guggenheim Museum in New York in recent years.

Around 100,000 people attended the museum see it - queuing for about two hours before being allowed in one at a time.

Visitors to Blenheim Palace will now be offered the same opportunity.

People line up to use the 18-karat gold 'America' toilet, 16-09-2016. Image: Christina Horsten/DPA/PA Images

The Blenheim Art Foundation said the installation, “can be seen as a witty comment on the social, political and economic disparities; an extravagantly luxurious object made available for public use.”

“The work highlights the inescapable commonalities of the human body – despite social and economic differences,” it said.

“It is emblematic of Cattelan’s practice, in its mixture of irreverent humour and astute social commentary.”

The foundation said security would be enhanced at the palace while the piece is on display.

Golden toilet

The foundation’s founder Edward Spencer-Churchill said the experience will be a novelty - even for him.

"Despite being born with a silver spoon in my mouth, I have never had a s***on a golden toilet," he told The Guardian.

"It will be an installed, working, usable toilet," he added.

General view of Blenheim Palace, 14-09-2017. Image: Steve Parsons/PA Archive/PA Images

He said the foundation has yet to decide how long each visitor will be allowed to spend on the toilet.

"We'd like people to enjoy their time in there without giving them too much time, if that makes sense," he said.

The Cattelan Exhibition is the artist’s first in the UK in twenty years.

It comes on the back of Blenheim’s exhibition of works by artists including Ai Weiwei, Lawrence Weiner, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Jenny Holzer and Yves Klein.