Kay: King Charles & William’s duchies should be folded into the Crown estate

This week, Omid Scobie tweeted out some criticism of the royal rota, the “royal reporters and commentators” who cover the Windsors full time. You would think that if your whole thing is the palace beat, you would be all over the Times and Channel 4’s revelations about the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall, and how thoroughly King Charles and Prince William are profiting from public services like hospitals and fire stations, plus they’re charging the military preposterous rates for sh-t like “mooring” and fuel. Not to mention, William and Charles are lining their pockets by charging charities for rent, even if they themselves are patrons of the charities. Well, Richard Kay is the first royal reporter to actually highlight the reporting and criticism (in a meek way) the Windsors. From his latest Mail column, “Amid a cost of living crisis, these revelations about the Royals’ finances could gnaw away at hard-won public trust.”

Just over 25 years ago, an internal Buckingham Palace report recommended steps the monarchy should adopt to rebuild trust after the catastrophic collapse in public support for the Royal Family that followed the death of Princess Diana. Many of the suggestions were practical – less formality for official engagements and opening royal events to a wider cross-section of the population – and approval ratings quickly rose. But buried in the report was a warning about one aspect that was not addressed – the wealth of the royals and a need for what it delicately put as ‘greater transparency’.

Two and a half decades on, and the monarchy – thanks to the dedication to duty of King Charles and a modern-looking Prince William – is more popular than ever. But there is an Achilles heel, and it remains the thorny issue of their private finances. In particular, the opaqueness and complexity that surrounds the running of the Duchy of Lancaster held by the King and the Duchy of Cornwall held by his son – which provide both with vast sums.

Now an investigation into these two private fiefdoms has uncovered some eye-raising details which, if not confronted, risk generating suspicion that will gnaw away at the hard-won public trust. For years, speculation about how rich the royals are has been just that, a guessing game. But revelations from Channel 4’s Dispatches programme and The Sunday Times about the millions the duchies are raking in from public services, including hospitals, schools and even the hard-pressed Armed Forces, have provoked worrying questions that highlight potential conflicts of interest and strike at the issue of transparency. The feudal-sounding duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall are actually property companies with assets worth £1.8 billion and 5,410 landholdings, ranging from rental houses and flats to farmland, mining rights and drilling sites.

And the investigation has thrown up some intriguing details. One 15-year deal will see the Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Trust in London pay £11.4 million to store its fleet of electric ambulance in a warehouse owned by the Duchy of Lancaster. The King will also make at least £28 million from windfarms because the duchy retains an ancient right to charge for cables crossing the foreshore across a swathe of coastline in the northwest of England.

William’s Duchy of Cornwall has signed a £37.5 million deal to lease Dartmoor prison for 25 years to the Ministry of Justice, which is liable for all repairs. His estate also owns Camelford House, a 1960s tower block on the banks of the Thames, which has brought in £22 million since 2005 from rents. It is known as ‘Charity Towers’ because so many, including Macmillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie and Comic Relief, have rented offices there.

The King is patron of both Macmillan and Marie Curie, while William has promoted Comic Relief. A charity that has the King or heir as its patron, or a cause advocated by them, that pays rent to the duchy, must surely touch on a possible conflict of interest. A Member of Parliament in the same position would have to declare it. Shouldn’t the Royal Family be held to the same standards?

At a time when many households are struggling with the cost of living – and Labour’s higher taxes – the findings are bound to provoke debate. There already have been calls for the two duchies to be folded into the Crown estate, which sends its profits to the Government.

The late Queen had a unique ability to divine the mood of the nation. After the Windsor Castle fire, amid public anger that taxpayers should be asked to meet repair costs, she funded the restoration herself. It would be a shame if her successors facing a potentially similar test of public confidence, failed to grasp the nettle.

[From The Daily Mail]

“Feudal-sounding” – no, they’re actually FEUDAL. They’re genuinely a remnant of feudal England. While it’s not shocking that Charles and William are up to their necks in this kind of feudal catastrophe, I think the scope of their profiteering from public services surprised people. Like, grabbing millions from the NHS? Profiting from a prison? Charging exorbitant rent from charities? Skimming money from the military? It’s insane. It will be interesting to see if other commentators follow Kay’s lead and oh-so-gently suggest that Charles and William need to do more to clean up this gigantic mess.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instar.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

13 Responses to “Kay: King Charles & William’s duchies should be folded into the Crown estate”

  1. Tessa says:

    William is not modern nor modern looking.

  2. SarahCS says:

    They can sweep most of their shady sh!t under the carpet and the majority of people have far bigger things to worry about but this is touching some key nerves with everything that’s happening here at the moment (even if that pales in comparison with what you have ahead of you in the US). There is consensus that public services need more money and are falling apart so there probably hasn’t been a worse time to be seen scamming the NHS, prisons and charities.

  3. Tessa says:

    The approval ratings imo came to the royals allegedly because of media and spin doctors spreading propaganda. The UK people do not have short memories and remember how Diana was treated and now the shameful treatment of the sussexes. And Charles ostentatious coronation demonstrated how the royals did not scale back. Charles asked for a raise so to speak. And he keeps getting richer

    • Smart&Messy says:

      Yeah, it sounds so ridiculous that their collapsed reputation was quickly fixed by opening up royal events to the wider public (I don’t even understand what that means in practice).

  4. Lili says:

    these reporters were calling for Harry and Meghan to pay back the refurbishment money, so i don’t see why they should’nt payback the money of lets say 20yrs that would help, rather than increasing taxes to help the NHS . and they should stop taking money out of those coffers. I bet KC3 is ignoring these reports hoping it will go away as they usually do.

  5. sevenblue says:

    There is nothing more concrete to show that their charity work is for show. Imagine getting rent from the charities while making a show of visiting them to “learn” and calling it charity work. Those rent revenues are nothing compared to their wealth, they could actually not collect them, which would make a real difference to them.

  6. Becks1 says:

    I mean, this is pretty weak, but its something. I appreciate that he’s acknowledging how bad this is for the royals. It may not be what brings them down (and it wont be) but I think its going to stick around them for a long time. They go to visit a charity – oh are you the landlord here? they visit the NHS – oh are you making money from this? They do anything military related – hey how much are you charging for this bit of coastline?

  7. Amy Bee says:

    This suggestion is going to go nowhere. The royal rota is not covering this story and the royal commentators although acknowledging that this looks bad still say that the Royal Family is worth every penny and that they only cost the tax payer 1.80 pounds a year.

  8. Beverley says:

    The grift will go on. The royals will continue unabated for as long as their “subjects” will allow. And I predict not a damn thing will happen. Just like in Trump’s case, the grift and financial corruption will continue until the public finally say “no more”.

  9. Eurydice says:

    I don’t know where he gets the idea that the monarchy is more popular than ever – more popular than when Elizabeth was Queen? Maybe he needs to kiss some royal ass before kicking it (however meekly).

  10. Lulu says:

    Charles and William should be required to report every cent they take in yearly. Even if taxes don’t have to be paid people should know how much they make.
    Also, this grift has been going on a long time, no one mentions QEII was in on it.

  11. WhatWasThat says:

    What was not mentioned here is every time the RNLI lifeboat is launched to save a life
    They are charged
    Can you think of anything more craven from the Head of State ?

Commenting Guidelines

Read the article before commenting.

We aim to be a friendly, welcoming site where people can discuss entertainment stories and current events in a lighthearted, safe environment without fear of harassment, excessive negativity, or bullying. Different opinions, backgrounds, ages, and nationalities are welcome here - hatred and bigotry are not. If you make racist or bigoted remarks, comment under multiple names, or wish death on anyone you will be banned. There are no second chances if you violate one of these basic rules.

By commenting you agree to our comment policy and our privacy policy

Do not engage with trolls, contrarians or rude people. Comment "troll" and we will see it.

Please e-mail the moderators at cbcomments at gmail.com to delete a comment if it's offensive or spam. If your comment disappears, it may have been eaten by the spam filter. Please email us to get it retrieved.

You can sign up to get an image next to your name at Gravatar.com Thank you!

Leave a comment after you have read the article

Save my name and email in this browser for the next time I comment