Prince Charles is technically one of the largest employers in the UK. His signature charity, The Prince’s Trust, employs hundreds of people and gives grants and scholarships to hundreds of people and organizations. He’s also in charge of Duchy Originals (his organic food line) and in charge of all the Duchy properties. He owns multiple properties around the UK, several of them as working farms or estates to support specific charities or initiatives. If you’d like a better idea of just how many projects, charities and businesses he’s involved with, I’d suggest watching that Prince Charles at 70 documentary – I was astonished by how far-ranging his work has become. All of which to say (again): Charles employs so many people. And now he’s furloughing 200 people from The Prince’s Foundation. But don’t worry, he’s still paying them.
Almost 200 people who work for the Prince of Wales have been furloughed as a result of the coronavirus crisis – but it won’t cost the taxpayer a penny. Instead of turning to the Government scheme, Prince Charles will use reserves at his charity to pay the salaries of his staff. However, his former valet Michael Fawcett, who now runs The Prince’s Foundation, is understood to have taken a significant cut to his six-figure salary.
A source at the charity, which has an annual wage bill of around £4.5 million, said that with all visitor attractions closed, 197 members of staff had been furloughed. They include workers at its headquarters in Dumfries House in Ayrshire and at the Castle of Mey in Caithness, which was the late Queen Mother’s private residence. Employees at restaurants in Ballater on Deeside close to Balmoral are also affected.
It is understood that salaried staff will receive 100 per cent of their monthly wage and variable hours employees will get 80 per cent of their average monthly wage. All members of the senior management team, including Mr Fawcett, volunteered to take a pay cut to ‘lead by example’. The foundation, which was created by the merging of The Prince’s Foundation for Building Community, The Prince’s Regeneration Trust, The Great Steward of Scotland’s Dumfries House Trust and The Prince’s School of Traditional Arts in 2018, generates almost half of its income from visitors, events, fees, partnerships and other commercial activities. According to its latest accounts, its income was £16.6 million in 2018-19.
Last night, a spokesman for the charity confirmed: ‘The Prince’s Foundation has put a number of staff on furlough. However, it is not accessing financial support from the Government’s job retention scheme. Where possible, some staff are continuing to work from home. The Prince’s Foundation is paying the salaries of its staff.’
The Dumfries House thing was covered in Prince Charles at 70 – Charles was concerned that the home would end up sold to a hotelier or a private family who would ruin the historical nature of the home and its contents (including one of the largest collections ever of Chippendale furniture), so Charles bought it and opened it up for tours (employing and training locals), and it became the centerpiece of a community-revitalization scheme he’s been working on for years. He’s done those kinds of projects all over the UK. And it’s great that he’s figuring out a way to still pay people while simply hitting pause on their activities. I also think it’s good that the higher-ups at these charitable schemes are taking more of a pay cut. Anyway… no shade for Charles.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
That’s great news – I wonder though what will happen to all of this when William gets it? I hope Charles makes it into independent trusts that has no connection to his son (whenever possible) if he hopes his legacy will survive.
Absolutely. Or let H&M run it remotely.
Yeah I hope he has a plan in place. The Newman’s Own food empire was ruined by his death when it was put into the hands of a non-family member.
That’s a lot of bitterness for someone who doesn’t really care. Also a new handle showing up with anti H and M sentiment. I’m sure that just a coincidence like all the other times we see this.
@nic919 yah because every time anyone criticises them here they get blocked!
JMO but I would rather see this type of thing run by an independent charity that includes people on the board who better understand the recipients of the charity or allows positions on the board of people from all walks of life, rather than more royalty.
Charles didn’t buy Dumfries house. It was bought by a consortium in 2007 that he was the head of and he invested 20 million pounds from the Princes Trust in it.
Good news. So it would remain independent of an inheritance right?
Very cool. When it comes to his hobbies and business, I always find Charles so interesting. He’s a good example in those areas.
Great news. Way to lead by example Charles.
Classy!
Why, oh why did this Father not speak up for his son’s new wife??????? Why? He does so many enlightened fair things. Organic farming, laying of people but allowing them financial stability. Blerg. Respecting your son and his choice, seems to fit in there. Why?????
Even is Charles didn’t want to “speak up”, there are so many others ways he could have signaled his support for his son and daughter-in-law. Also, a well placed “source” declaring how upset the Prince of Wales was by the racist reporting and lies would have gone a long way. But in the end, the members of the RF where only thinking of themselves and the dirt that the various reporters have on each and every one of them.
Do we now have to mention Harry and Mehgan in every royal story?
It’s a valid question. TQ or Charlie could have shut shit down with finality, before the wedding and more especially the nastiness after and during her pregnancy. Kate’s eyebrows get more hate than Charles.
It is part of why the media felt they could go as far as they have. Had Charles shut them down early they would have stopped.
Charles does know how to use the media. He makes things known like when it was said he did not see enough of his grandchildren. He could have done this with Meghan and Harry. He should also have perhaps “hired” Meghan and Harry to assist him with a special project and be seen with them a lot more.So many things he could have done.
The older these Royal members get the more adorable to the public, the courtiers know this, it’ll be the same for William.
This is wonderful, and the main reason why I don’t agree we need to reopen every shop and restaurant in order to revitalize the economy and help people — the wealthy and the government have the ability to ease people’s financial struggles, and many other countries are giving sizable contributions to those who have lost their jobs. The U.S. is choosing not to do that to the extent it should, instead trying to avoid paying people unemployment by pushing the “reopen” narrative far too early.
I totally agree and I wish your comment were higher up, so that others can see it.
We need more rich folks to lead by example like this.
Well done, Charles
Happy to read this.
Yes, this was well done. Just wish on another front he had forgiven rent for a few months instead of deferring it. Funny that no papers ever focused on that. He has a well-oiled publicity machine.
There are many things he’s done wrong, but this isn’t one of them. Wish he could be consistent in his actions of helping others to include his son and daughter-in-law
IMO Charles probably had the MOST ability to step in and do something, anything at all to support H&M and put rest to the nastiness in the tabloids.
Charles made a CHOICE to do nothing.
I agree.
He also recently wrote to the Croatian president and donated a bit of money for the restoration of Zagreb after the earthquake. Zagreb was hit with the strongest earthquake in 140 years, in the middle of the coronavirus crisis ( which we are handling really well so far, only 9 people infected today).
I was surprised Charles donated because the roayl family is hardly popular here, but apparently he loved it in Zagreb 4 years ago when him and Camilla visited.
That is so nice to hear. I feel actions like this show how meaningful his work is to him. He has his faults, and unfortunately ignorances, but I think he’s probably the most capable British royal, including Queenie.
That is awesome. No shade indeed.
200 staff is a lot of staff for someone who doesn’t make any real decisions for a country and that is a lot of top off money. This article was also titled with “Unlike Victoria Beckham who is aksing for taxpayers help” used to garner approval but it’s biting the RF in the butt, almost all comments are negative. Victoria Beckham is a millionaire but she built her company with her own money and hard work, and paid for staff not using a penny from tax money, year in and year out, and because she feels shes in a financial mess would like to borrow for once in her life, I don’t agree with it, but how can a billion-dollar man recieve 100 mil in tax funds every year, and beieve he should get credit for using his charity’s top up money and STILL continue to take from taxpayers every year on out, and be groveled over?? Between this article and the one of “Kate moved to tears by mental health workers” (but not moved enough to be reaching into her wallet) all comments are negative, Harry was smart to walk away from this burning building, and the wealthy like Victoria Beckham are resenting that they are given a bad name when they’re struggling during the pandemic, the people are getting restless and disenchanted and this is not going to end well.
btw Camilla’s looking great lately!
I never thought she looks great.
Tessa I don’t know she looks better than she did, more fresh, it could be photoshop or maybe she had a little work done. The royal family are isolating and getting “work” done, lol.
Camilla’s pictures are photoshopped. I recall an article about one appearance she made and her wrinkles were very evident in the photographs (she being a heavy smoker for much of her life caused the skin damage) but then another article about the same appearance shows her face smooth and no sign of the wrinkles. I don’t think she got work done but supposedly she had some dental work early on. Or so I read.
*furloughed meaning instead of using his vast personal wealth he is using our taxes.
he’s as bad as Richard Branson.
According to the article, he is using his reserves and higher ups are taking pay cuts. Not sure where you got your info?
His vast personal wealth is our money so same difference really. It is all just appropriated lands and riches.
The Prince’s Trust is maybe, maybe in the top 50 private employers but certainly nowhere near the top (those are various public employers and other larger companies)
Charles may have his faults, but don’t we all. He is a good person, who has not sat twiddling his thumbs, waiting for the crown, like you-know-who. My one criticism is his fear of the press rendered him useless when it came to protecting his son and daughter-in-law.
This was a nice and likely true comment.
Charles is not really a good person considering some of his actions. He is shrewd though and he does do work. I don’t think he fears the press, he faces it head on. He has PR people working with him. I don’t have any excuse for him not helping his second son and his daughter in law. One word from Charles would have shut this down. Jobson spread the rumor that Harry said “What Meghan wants Meghan Gets” and this in Charles biography that he wrote with Charles’ cooperation. I see that now the What Meghan Wants Meghan Gets is attributed to Harry not Jobson. Charles also made Camila non-negotiable he should have applied this also to Harry and Meghan. I think William is like his father and in some ways a lot worse.
This; and, Jobson is not the first RR used as a mouthpiece by Charles to trash another family member. There is also the sticky situation of Charles’ PR head liking, on his private Twitter account, tweets trashing Meghan. I am reminded of his jealousy of Diana garnering more attention.
It was bad enough when Charles failed to defend Meghan against the onslaught of negative press but his failure to defend his grandson, who had been likened to a monkey, is unforgivable, imo. No, Charles is not a good person.
As far as I can see, the gentleman does good dedicated work with his endeavors and I am grateful for that.
Charles strikes me as the most intelligent and well educated of the major royals with a life long intellectual curiosity which continues even today. He also appears to be very hard working and an astute and capable businessman. I am struck by his ability to see a need, design and launch charitable and effective endeavors to meet such need and successfully continue to achieve his goals year after year. I am reminded of his son Harry in these respects.
Yes, he has had some personal failings in his relationship with Diana and his children but, all in all, the people of the U.K. have been well served having Charles as the PoW.