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 .

@Grammarnut
Im sorry but you are not thinking clearly

The entire point of this thread was to discuss the fact that the Windsors are charging rent to state services and charities that we pay for and use ( they don’t )

Your point re ‘other rich people’ is completely null and void . The Windsors are in a uniquely advantageous postion ( Charles could kill someone live on camera and he cannot be charged with murder) and also use charity as a PR prop. You don’t see any issue with them secretly charging the same charities they are patron of to rent buildings on what they claim is their land ?!
Really ?
As for your attempt to smear the programme makers who have produced an informative programme - did you know the programme was delayed twice ? It will have been gone over with a fine toothed comb. Also you omitted to mention that the Times newspaper co prodiced the programme

The issue re William renting out substandard housing highlights the sheer hypocrisy of William and his lack lustre homelessness ‘life mission’ . And the mining licences - at odds with caring about the environment etc etc

Good post @Grammarnut
which falls in line with my querying of the facts on the programme sited here. Or should I say lack of facts.
Those making documentaries have far more resources than us and it’s a shame that they can’t site all facts in an unbiased way. Rather than offering biased opinions for us to simply soak up.

It is their land.* Why should they not charge market rents? I didn't smear the programme or its makers (and did not choose to mention The Times, since it was not relevant to my point) but pointed out that Channel 4 are not necessarily objective here.
I am not sure about the substandard housing. Will check that out. Thanks.
*Why does everyone think the land is not theirs? Is everyone on MN against inheriting property? Just because the title to the land is c.500 years old doesn't make it invalid.

*I think it’s more a case of if someone has more than you you think you have a right to it.

In terms of the substandard housing again I posted finances for the Duchy up thread ( it’s all online ) and they average a 9/10% spend on maintenance for 21/22 ( reduced during pandemic years ). There is, however, nothing available re how many properties are listed or indeed how many have tenancies which require the tenants to carry out maintenance which was normal.

The Duchy owns 600 rented properties of which 50 do not meet EPC requirements for renting but are these the listed ones , which are exempt…..we don’t know. The Duchy has stated a lot of their properties are listed so I would imagine a lot means more than 8% ( 50/600 ).
There are no facts available and nothing given in the documentary.

Although I suppose if the doc / papers were that invested in being unbiased they could check the listings of all the properties owned by the Duchy as again it’s all online. Alas, they haven’t.
Wonder why 🤔

I picked up the Mirror article about housing in the Duchy of Cornwall. The article starts with a falsehood, that the tax payer is paying for the refurbishment of Buckingham Palace. The funding is coming from the Crown Estate, which belongs to the current monarch in right of the Crown. 75% of its profits remain with the Treasury to the benefit of taxpayers, and currently 25% is the Soveriegn Grant, from which money repairs to Buckingham Palace are being funded (and Buckingham Palace belongs to the state, and is not the personal property of the monarch). For comparison, the Treasury usually takes 85% of the profits, the current extra % is specifically earmarked to repair the palace, which is both the King's office (think large company's head office) and the place where he/we entertain visiting heads of state etc.
As to the properties, it looks as if many could do with knew boilers and they use solid fuel heating, which is a bit inevitable if in the country (DG has oil-fired central heating in his house in a remote village, and DS, who also lives in a less remote village, has electric central heating). Mould is caused either by water seepage (I have this problem in a basement, really difficult to cure) or from condensation - mainly heating rooms, using appliances such as tumble dryers, etc. without proper ventilation.
Neither the King nor the Prince of Wales are minutely hands on, I suspect, so it is their managers who are being difficult (if they are) and they are running a commercial enterprise and required to justify all expenditure, charge market rents etc. We have a local 'great estate' which is equally dilatory - nothing to do with the RF.

Those are excellent points. I had also noted that the number of properties with problems was about 8% and wondered if they are listed e.g. cannot have visible double glazing, can't have external rendering as insulation, are properties where any fiddling with the heating causes problems e.g. lime washed walls crumbling etc.
Very happy to find someone who is as suspicious of this information as I am.

see my post above @Grammarnut - the legislation from a few centuries ago states that the king can have the income from the Duchy but that the land is part of the crown estate lands
Again there a falsehood in you post above - the crown estates are state lands- the Windsors take from the state and then double charge the taxpayer as described repeatedly on these pages .
When the Windsors go there will be no payment given to the Windsors it will all go to the state

All this detailed above

Thanks Grammar 😆
I am the suspicious type you are quite right.
Lets face it though, who in their right mind believes everything they are told without facts

I’m reminded of the slagging off Megan Markle got for using vegan paint on their cottage. Not one paper bothered to point out as the cottage is listed you have to use breathable paints to allow the historic fabric of the building to breath. You can’t use anything else.
All breathable paints are by their very nature without glue, so as a side issue vegan.
But no, let’s let everyone think the tax payer is paying for the luxury of vegan paints for Megan’s abode 😆…..

(I’m not interested in the lives of celebrities and the RF, but I hate mis reporting )

The Crown Estate is held by the monarch in right of the Crown. The two duchies have for several centuries (since George III afaik) been considered separate entities from the Crown Estate.
The Windsors don't 'take from the state', the King (as all his predecessors since George III) handed the Crown Estate to the Treasury, who take between 75% and 85% of the profits, using the remainder to fund the public duties of the monarch and his immediate family (the 'working royals').
If you want me to read your post, you need to quote it. However, there are factual erros in e.g the Mirror report and lack of detail in Channel 4's programme. Many properties held by the Duchy of Cornwall will be listed - thus exempt from energy rating rules and also very difficult to insulate e.g. a cruck farm house with lime-washed walls will fall into a pile of mud if wrongly heated/insulated.
You seem to have a problem with the Windsors having inherited wealth in the UK, owning land etc. I don't understand why.

Lime wash, of course! I missed that one. But you know, facts shouldn't be allowed to get in the way of a good story. 🙄

Exactly !!!!!
Everyone like a juicy story!
No one wants the facts, they are a bit boring

( as an aside….here’s a boring bit… there are other breathable paints as well as limewash. Internally lime wash is a pain as it comes off on your clothes and you can’t rub it down to clean you just have to lime wash again. We had old blue 🤢 lime wash in our bedrooms and the mess it made!!! So now there’s good clay paints etc. company = Earthborn….if interested )

ps doesn’t smell, one coat only, really lovely to apply, no nasty glues so totally kind to animals and we can all be like Megan 🤣🤣🤣

pps no, I don’t work for Earthborn

William has said he will bring the homes he rents up to normal standards so I don’t know why you are focussing on ‘listed status’ .
He of course is only saying this as a result of the investigation. The investigation took a year by the way . A year of dogged investigation.

The Windsors take from the tax payer yet can hide their accounts. No one else can hide their accounts or wills - not even the ‘rich people’ you keep mentioning

The focus of my thread was on the NHS and charities . Both William and Charles are making money off the very institutions we need. they claim special status as ‘king’ and claim to care about the people . Yet in secret they were ripping off the state services we pay and rely on. It is utterly disgraceful and they haven’t even offered an apology or explanation.

Will they make amends by repaying that least the money theyve taken from the NHS , charities , forces and schools?

Will they do that at least ?

If you own property and rent it out then you expect a return. Whoever owned the land that the NHS is using would require a market rent. Have a look at the PFI scandal to realise who is really ripping off the NHS - and allowed to do so by a Labour government, indeed, encouraged.
You seem to have a problem with a) inherited wealth and b) people getting a return on rented property. Why, unless it's just the politics of envy?

The Duchy of Cornwall has a list of all listed properties it owns. They all require special care and are exempt from the rules re energy efficiency etc. We live in an area which has a 'great estate' - inherited over centuries - and it is reported to be quite dilatory in repairs etc - why is Channel 4 not finding out about that?

The Duchy estate accounts are all online to view
@Ukisgaslit

We should at least stop giving them tens of millions of pounds every year. Perhaps it's time for them to be outsourced.

@slightlydistrac can you name any other large landlords who charge charities loads on rent, and are patron of those charities taking part in high profile events?

The Queen chose to pay tax on all earnings and encouraged family to do the same

No she did not. She said she would voluntarily pay income tax after a public backlash. She does not pay capital gains or inheritance tax

I can think of one yes, I used to work for them. I'm not going to tell you who they are though.

Probably because we both like facts! Eh @Grammarnut 😀

Everything I’ve said is factual.
If you are royal supporter , and I assume you are , you’d do better to campaign for reform. It’s the only way for the Windsors to survive now .
.
More and more is coming out and it’s never good is it ?

Here’s an interesting article.
The NHS are selling off masses of the land they own as one of the Largest Landowners in England !
tap image to read as it’s clearer