Can we do something about William and Charles profiting from the NHS etc ?

[Ukisgaslit]

If You haven’t seen it , the Times and Channel 4 Dispatches programme did some proper old fashioned investigative journalism and revealed how Charles and William via the Duchys are charging schools, the NHS and charities ( some they are patron of!) to use ‘their’ land.
It is not ‘their’ land - it is state land , as the crown estates are. The Duchys were overlooked in 1760 when George 111 handed his holdings over in return for annual handouts from the state - they were overlooked as they were worthless then.
They have made the Windsors billions since the mid 20th century and no corporation tax or capital gains tax paid. William recently refused to continue providing the little financial information that his father offered.

Aside from the obvious fact that the king is in a unique position, being above the law whether we like it or not ( though why is William treated as also above the law?) surely they are humiliated to be revealed as ripping off schools and charities and hospitals?

Where is the Windsor mea culpa and offer to repay with interest? Answer came there none.

So AIBU to expect MPs to please act and fold the Duchys into the crown estate ? The UK is in a weakened state and allowing this feudal greed to continue unchecked diminishes our society further .

Yes this thread hasn’t covered the environmental hypocrisy revealed in the programme nor the illegal standard of the houses William and Charles rent out.

The houses are rated below E so anywhere else in the country it would be illegal to rent them out . Tenants said in the programme that they were afraid to complain to the Duchy and that they were not good landlords

Such ‘duty’ …

This is what I was getting at regarding William. Charles can sweep objections away because hes’king’ and above the law ( how embarrassing for us)
But William isn’t so how can he ignore the law? Because ‘Duchy’ is the only answer I’ve got from royal supporters
Not good enough

Not everyone agrees it’s OK to take take from those that have more,

not everyone agrees services should get stuff for free.
We all have to pay and contribute and as it stands the RF pay their share too ( currently thats voluntary because of the law ) and personally I believe if someone is using a service they should pay for that. Whether that’s an individual renting a room from a landlord,
a shop renting from a business
or the nhs renting land from the RF.

We must all pay for services.

So for those who don’t agree with the thread Guess what
Not everyone thinks the same and that is their right…….this is a discussion.

I’d like to see that too @ARealitycheck as a lot of the properties are actually listed. So things like double glazing aren’t allowed anyway. ( do they then have secondary glazing if they can ….there’s no info )
I have tried to find this info out and apart from reports saying the ones that don’t conform are exempt I can’t find actual numbers.
Or defined reasons as there can be various reasons for exemption.

Many reports on here seemingly quite adamant in opinion so I’d like proof too.

She didn’t have to pay inheritance tax.
It didn’t exist when her father died.

@SavingTheBestTillLast
The Windsors do not pay their share - far from it .
They pay a ‘voluntary’ amount which they decide on based on nothing but their own whim.
They run ( or rather others run for them) corporations , oil refineries , quarries , shopping malls etc - all commercial red in tooth and claw capitalism but pay not a penny in corporation tax .
Oh and if we are in it together could the Windsors pay their inheritance tax bill? Many families sell homes to pay that bill - but not the Windsors .
Throw a few metaphorical pennies at the plebs to shut them up

That’s not correct.
If a property is listed it is exempt if necessary upgrades to reach the rating can’t be achieved. This is to protect the historic fabric of the building and ultimately our heritage.

@SavingTheBestTillLast
Well it exists now - is Charles paying inheritance tax ?

And the royals did pay taxes until the 1930s - the relations of the current lot put a stop to all that

Did you hear the what the tenants had to say about the conditions they live in?

@SavingTheBestTillLast
If you watch dispatches they mentioned listed buildings but many of the affected buildings were described as ‘ordinary ‘

🤣🤣
oh dear if you are calling yourself or the population a pleb I find that a little sad.

currently I don’t have an issue with the RF and inheritance as I wouldn’t want some of our most important historical buildings sold off to some Oligarch to pay IHT. I’d rather they remained and were protected as Listed buildings. I also wouldn’t want them given to local councils as they can’t afford to care for them.

So in terms of selling off your home to pay IHT I’d prefer the Royal residences had protection.

I’m simply correcting your incorrect comment that all of the properties must reach a certain level.
They don’t if they are listed.
Your stated fact is wrong, it is not illegal and very much depends on many factors. Some of which relate to the building itself.

Iit has been illegal to rent out houses with a rating below E since 2020
Are you claiming that all the house that William rents out which failed their rating ( 1 got 1 out of 100…) are in fact listed ?

What is ordinary.
Thats not a building type.
It means nothing in fact

I’d like to know why the ones stated as exempt are exempt
Theres no facts and numbers of this ( that I can find ) and nothing in that programme.
If I was really invested I could look up all of the buildings on the Sandringham estate for example
i could find the listed ones
i may be able to find the long term renters
I could find the ones owned by the RF
There is lots of info available to the makers of documentaries and I’d love to know why the facts and figures weren’t stated. 🤔

Sometimes it’s what we’re not told that actually tells the true story or at least the full unbiased story.

Well William himself has ‘pledged’ to bring the houses up to standard - post the Dispatches revelations of course So @SavingTheBestTillLast you better have a word with him - heritage and all that

Quote:

Prince William pledges to address mould-ridden rental homes owned by royal estate
NOVEMBER 4, 2024 | MARC DA SILVA
A shocking report over the weekend revealed that up to one in seven rental homes owned by Prince William’s £1.3bn Duchy of Cornwall estate have F or G-rated EPCs – below the minimum standard (rating E) legally required for landlords to rent out properties, unless they have a valid exemption in place.
Tenants of the royal family have complained about homes riddled with black mould and damp Since 2020, but no action has been taken to-date despite the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES) regulations in place since 1 April 2020.
As many of you will already know, if a landlord is planning to let a property with an EPC rating of F or G, they need to improve the property’s rating to E, or register an exemption, before entering into a new tenancy.
If the landlord is currently letting a property with an EPC rating of F or G, and they have not already taken action, they must improve the property’s rating to E immediately, or register an exemption.
In response to the findings exposed by an investigation by The Mirror and Channel 4’s Dispatches into properties owned by the royal estate, Prince William has pledged to “transform” the rental properties he owns that are failing to meet minimum legal standards.
Prince William recently launched a campaign to end homelessness and for “everyone having a right to a safe and stable home”.
But one of his tenants said: “The slick PR will stick in the throat of many tenants.
“He should start by bringing the homes he already owns up to modern standards.”
The 700-year-old Duchy of Cornwall owns more than 600 rental properties.

.

Damn I voted the wrong way!
is a completely unjustifiable horror
no reason AT ALL not to treat everything other than crown land (the profits of which go to the state in return for civil list) as the private properties they are.

No
If you read my posts you’ll see there are no numbers on that and that’s the information I’d love to see
Of course there are other reasons why non conformity is not illegal.

anyone that invested, especially if they’re making a documentary, could easily check out Listings of all properties.
Its all online.

@SavingTheBestTillLast I have been involved in local charities for years. It is not unusual for private landlords to give reduced rents because they support the charity. Charles and William make a lot of money from rents for charities where they are the Patron. They get to pose pretending to support them, whilst making a lot of money from them.

Yes I focussed on the NHS and the scandal of the royals taking from them but there is lot more hypocrisy

I expect William was completely unaware and cared not a jot .

The only reasonable solution is to get them lined up against the wall, then see how negotiations go.

Tbh I have no idea how much they charge or whether it’s the local going rate.
I haven’t seen any figures or evidence.

I know our two local Cathedrals charge reduced rents to Charity shops on their land and that’s a great thing to do. Although tbh they’ve been raised substantially recently.

So yes I’m aware landlords support charities with reduced rents, I have no idea how much the RF charge every individual or business. I have no idea if some get it reduced and some pay the going rate

Any facts greatly appreciated to fill in the blanks though.

@SavingTheBestTillLast even if I agreed with you, which I don’t, regarding the state of their residential property portfolio, do you not think that both being able to simply not care to pay business taxes (I wish I could try that one!) and refuse to have accounts scrutinised is not acceptable? Or ethical?

@SavingTheBestTillLast
Maybe your local cathedral could have a word with the head of their church about charity
Charles charged MacMillan so much in rent that they had to move offices

from the Cambridge news :
King Charles III, who was a patron of Macmillan Cancer Support for many years, is connected to the Duchy of Cornwall. This earned £22 million in rent from a London office block tenanted by several charities including Macmillan, Comic Relief, and Marie Curie.

The4 Royals charge market rents. Maybe you should watch the documentary?