republicans, over here!

[arghpleasestop]

OK, it's been 24 hours now.

Can I say it yet?

Long live the king - any king! - you must be joking. How on earth can it be the 21st century and there is still a hereditary monarchy of 'special people with the right blood' who wear crowns, live in palaces and play a formal role in politics?

I can see from other threads that others feel upset and are following it all closely. This thread is not to deny those feelings and for sure Queen E worked hard shaking hands for a long time - but to say, WTF, bring on the republic please.

@VivX
It simply isn't true that any of us could achieve the same effect as a sovereign-to-sovereign IHT exemption merely by "establishing a trust and then living for 7 years."

I assure you, it most certainly is possible, the “same effect” being zero IHT due. A good friend of mine is a solicitor that specialises in tax (avoidance) for those who are from the comfortably well off to the ultra high net worth.

I guess it's not true in the sense that no-one is guaranteed to live seven years after setting up a trust, but the RF doesn't even have to faff around doing that with all its attendant costs, it's an automatic dispensation.

British cycling have just issued this, it doesn't mention London at all

'Guidance issued by British cycling has now emerged that suggest people should avoid going out on their bike while the service and "associated processions" take place.

"British Cycling strongly recommends that anybody out riding their bike on the day of the State Funeral does so outside of the timings of the funeral service and associated processions," a statement said.'

Seems a bit batshit to me.

"Wherever the Prince goes in the world, the breakfast box goes with him. He has six different types of honey, some special mueslis, his dried fruit and anything that's a bit special that he is a bit fussy about."
Another specific breakfast request was revealed by former royal chef Darren McGrady, who worked for the family for more than 15 years. He explained that King Charles likes to ensure the royal pantry is well stocked with "his own produce".
McGrady said: "The instruction was to put two plums and a little juice into the bowl and send it into him for breakfast. I'd send in two plums and he would take one so it would come back out after breakfast and I'd put the other plum back into the jar and save it.
"One morning I thought, 'ok, he only eats one for breakfast,' so I only put one plum into the bowl and sent it out into the dining room. The attending [waiter] came through and said, 'can His Royal Highness have two please?' So I had to keep sending two in every morning."

King Charles' exacting standards are not new as several stories have surfaced in the past about his taste for the finer things in life.
In the documentary Serving the Royals: Inside the Firm, Diana's former butler Paul Burrell revealed: “His pyjamas are pressed every morning, his shoelaces are pressed flat with an iron, the bath plug has to be in a certain position, and the water temperature has to be just tepid. He has his valets squeeze one inch of toothpaste onto his toothbrush every morning.”
Further stringent travel demands have been laid bare in Tina Brown's explosive tell-all book 'The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor - the Truth and the Turmoil'. She details how Charles allegedly sends a van of his possessions to his friends’ country houses the day before he's due to stay to unload his “bed, furniture and even pictures”.
This includes his orthopaedic bed, lavatory seat and Kleenex Velvet lavatory paper. Brown also claims Charles brings his own landscapes of the Scottish Highlands to decorate his room.

No, they're just normal folks right? I also have a flunkie squeezing my toothpaste and ironing my shoelaces. Why the hell should I be expected to do that?

Remember, these people are the "servants" (the press would have us believe) - not the other way around.

Must be a hard life indeed.

What 'associated processions' are they expecting?

Anybody sensible will avoid central London on the day of the funeral anyway. If you are out on your bike and you get to a crowded place, you can choose a different route. It seems entirely sensible to travel by bike when public transport will probably be rammed.

@Getagrip123
Ive seen much longer exposes of similar diva type requirements that Mariah Carey or Taylor Swift have.

Plus you have less wholesome exposes of what Elon Musk expects on his private jets….

The royal family aren’t regular folks, no one is saying that at all. They are privileged and pampered just like any other millionaire rich person is, except instead of spending their lives squeezing more money out of the common folk who work for them, they spend their lives doing military service and volunteer work with charities. Personally, I think that is something to be respected.

Well, yes it’s a bit of extra faff for us, but the claim was that there is no way for non monarchs to avoid IHT, which was not true, because we can. People avoid paying IHT every day. The fact it’s not as easy of a way, doesn’t mean there is no way to avoid IHT for the rest of us.

Yes, if you survive seven years from what I understand. only the RF has the guarantee.

The RF charity work is problematic. I've posted a link to a report a couple of times, you might find it interesting.

And they squeeze loads of money out if us! Why didn't they refuse a chunk of the sovereign grant during covid when their costs were much lower? Not very patriotic of them.

I wonder if I could borrow a bike for Monday? I would normally take advantage of the quiet roads to go out on my horse but he's been poorly so I'm doing club accounts instead.

Can't wait for next week when it will all be over. Thank God for Netflix and Prime.

I think their costs went up during covid not down, I read there was a £14m shortfall. Then they donated £2m to mental health charities to help with Covid grief, lockdown stress and so on.

The difference is Mariah Carey isn't trying to pretend that she is devoting her life to "service" and being a "servant" as if they are making a huge sacrifice for which they are not massively rewarded.
Volunteering with charity? Opening a few hospices or hospitals or refuges, cutting a few ribbons? Don't try to pretend they are on the front lines doing real charity work like a UN worker in a war zone or something.

Who spent their lives doing military service? Not for a token few years? William - 7 years. Harry - 10 years. Edward - 1 year. Charles - 5 years.

Not what I would call "spending their lives" in active service.

Harry's time in the army was beset with "rumours" that he was very heavily guarded at all times, and it is common knowledge on many ex-army forums that he was known as "bunker Harry" and seen as little more than a toy soldier who spent a lot of time in combat uniform but played video games in his tent, did none of his own personal care like boot cleaning, and had meals specially prepared for him.

Can't wait for next week when it will all be over

Wishful thinking.

There's bound to be a formal Coronation, probably in late spring next year, and all the associated nonsense, media fawning, and batshittery that comes along with that.

Then you have the fact that Charles himself is 74 years old later this year and showing a few signs of being less that fighting fit, so those of us under 70 are highly likely to witness another round of the same histrionics we're witnessing right now at some point in the next couple of decades.

Sorry to be a debbie downer, but that's the reality.

What the hell am I reading about cycling associations telling people not to cycle during the funeral?

That must be satire

That’s Monday’s plan sorted then- DS and I are going for a bike ride 😁

Apparently, British Cycling have taken that statement off their website now. I guess someone there realised how batshit it sounded.

Om hoping they announce the coronation date soon. I usually book my holiday around October time and I would prefer to be out of the country if possible.

I think there will be protests at the Coronation.

If that's allowed of course.

What the hell am I reading about cycling associations telling people not to cycle during the funeral?

That must be satire

could you imagine the uproar if the AA & RAC told people not to drive 😂😂😂

they spend their lives doing military service and volunteer work with charities.

Charities with a royal patron are lucky if they see them once a year. 74% don't. It's also been shown that having a royal patron has little to no effect in raising income.

What the hell am I reading about cycling associations telling people not to cycle during the funeral?

I haven't read the cycling nonsense but I'm currently feeling very sorry for those stuck in massive queues on the motorway (also presumably on approach roads) in torrential rain while the royal hearse sails by unimpeded.

Thank you for being here. Was starting to think I was the only one who cannot stand this non stop grief fest.
I had great respect for the Queen for the length of her reign and how she presented herself.
Now though let's get rid of the lot of them.

The sovereign-to-sovereign IHT exemption is not just to do with zero IHT at the point of death. Its fundamental purpose is to avoid the erosion of the monarch's wealth and keep it intact (that's literally not the case for anyone else).

The exemption also applies to the private wealth of spouses of monarchs. Hence it applied to the Queen Mother, although she was never a monarch herself.

That would be equivalent of Joe Bloggs setting up the suggested trust and then not dying for 7 years; and then when his mother-in-law dies and her estate also benefits from the existence of Jo Blogg's trust and 7 years' survival.
Even if they (the m-i-l) had failed to make the necessary IHT provisions (eg, the suggested trust and then not dying for 7 years) for themselves.

Additionally, if someone puts all of their assets into a trust (as per the suggestion), there will be legal and/or tax consequences and effects (which depend on the trust) either in their lifetime and/or for their estate and/or their eventual beneficiaries.

For a start, the inherited assets are now in a trust (because that was the suggested solution); furthermore there may be tax consequences further down the line, such as exit charges to take them out of the trust or restrictions in the ability to claim other tax reliefs. At the very least, there is an an added level of complexity in the ownership of the inherited assets.
This is quite a different effect than under the exemption.

Under the exemption - the estate remains intact with the same legal ownership structure as before and with no other consequences or conditions attaching to it (that weren't already there before for some other reason) in the future.

Incidentally, the exemption is also a lot simpler to comply with. The "rules" are covered in under 300 words in the MoU), and is pretty much a blanket exemption without any other conditions (other than being a monarch or consort, of course).

On the other hand, Inheritance Tax legislation extends for roughly 250 paragraphs plus schedules and the estate needs to be compliant in all of the relevant conditions to be effective in avoiding IHT. (And if the person makes an error in their estate planning, the beneficiaries can do little about it)

The exemption is not subject to legislation - it is voluntary and only subject to a memorandum of understanding. So if an unforeseen situation (or perhaps a mistake) were to arise (or even, if they just changed their minds), it can be amended or completely set aside without a change in law.

There's another clip of him from today cursing 'this stinking pen' . I suspect stationery will be his downfall.

Pen is his nemesis.

And twice in two days, too ...

Can you imagine the cartoons in the media?