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RICHARD KAY: Amid a cost of living crisis, these revelations about the Royals' finances could gnaw away at hard-won public trust By Richard Kay for the Daily Mail Published: 21:06 EST, 3 November 2024 | Updated: 21:06 EST, 3 November 2024 e-mail 7 shares View comments 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. King Charles at Sandringham yesterday after the morning service at St Mary Magdalen Church in Norfolk Thanks to the dedication to duty of King Charles and Prince William - the monarchy is more popular than ever, writes Richard Kay 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. That they had stocks and shares was accepted but the nature of their investments and how much money they amounted to was obscured in secrecy.
One justification was that public knowledge about where the King and his heir chose to invest might influence not just the market but also commercially disadvantage businesses because of the inevitable increase in scrutiny. Prising open the secrets of the two duchies, which are exempt from business taxes and are used to fund the royals' lifestyles and philanthropic work, has proved almost impossible. Two parliamentary committees have tried and largely failed.
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. Revelations from Channel 4's Dispatches programme have provoked questions that highlight potential conflicts of interest and strike at the issue of transparency The investigation by Channel 4's Dispatches and the Sunday Times examined the land and properties the two leading royals own through the duchies 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. Read More Hard-drinking toff who consoled Charles over his split with Diana.
.. but met an undignified end Shouldn't the Royal Family be held to the same standards? Elsewhere, William's duchy has charged the Royal Navy more than £1 million to build and use jetties that moor its warships at Devonport.
On Dartmoor, where the Cornwall estate owns 67,000 acres, it is charging the military for the right to train troops there. Some will doubtless find the morality of charges relating to public services troubling. Can it be right that the monarch, who is head of the Armed Forces, appears to be benefiting financially from military contracts? Or that the cash-strapped NHS is helping to fund the royals' income? 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. It should be pointed out that Charles and William do pay income tax on profits from their estates after business expenses have been deducted, but both refuse to say how much. 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. Comic Relief Buckingham Palace Prince William Share or comment on this article: RICHARD KAY: Amid a cost of living crisis, these revelations about the Royals' finances could gnaw away at hard-won public trust e-mail 7 shares Add comment.
