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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

AIBU to question why the Royal Family needs to charge rents from organisations such as prisons, NHS and even MacMillan cancer!

67 replies

Bunnyfuller1 · 30/06/2026 14:40

Why are we just letting this continue? Charging MacMillan and other charities for office space. FFS.

www.facebook.com/reel/1378295507497825/?fs=e&s=TIeQ9V&fs=e&fs=e

OP posts:
HelloPossible · 30/06/2026 23:35

I always wonder if the Royals will just give up most of the public duties and just be Duke of Westminster type landowners. They would stay wealthy and wouldn’t have to do so much or have responsibilities like the Windsor estate, I expect in time the houses and estates that are part of The Crown will be managed out and the main players will concentrate on their private wealth. It seems to already be happening with Buckingham Palace. All in the name of slimming down the monarchy but in truth just an easier life with less expense day to day.

HelenaWilson · 01/07/2026 00:52

Even if it was no longer required for administrative and ceremonial purposes, BP would still exist The government would still have to pay for its upkeep.

Trezo · 01/07/2026 01:14

SamAylward · 30/06/2026 19:11

The royal family does NOT charge them rent.

It is the Crown Estate that is charging these rents NOT the royal family. They are two totally separate things and ALL profits from the Crown Estate go to the Treasury not to the royal family.

Go and google "The Crown Estate" for a full explanation.

Your post is based on totally false information.

Edited

It is the Duchies that are charging rent taking from NHS RNLI Schools etc nothing to do with the Crown Estate which is state owned. Yes the royals are very greedy..
Charlie and William shoukd not recoeve the over £50 million between them.
The Duchies should be taken back, and rolled into the Crown estate.

My transparency is needed about their finances. And the funding should be much lower.

Dillbbb · 01/07/2026 05:02

Trezo · 01/07/2026 01:14

It is the Duchies that are charging rent taking from NHS RNLI Schools etc nothing to do with the Crown Estate which is state owned. Yes the royals are very greedy..
Charlie and William shoukd not recoeve the over £50 million between them.
The Duchies should be taken back, and rolled into the Crown estate.

My transparency is needed about their finances. And the funding should be much lower.

Nothing is free. NHS, rnli and schools need to pay rent

Notashamed13 · 01/07/2026 05:11

lightreflectingonwater · 30/06/2026 22:10

Just to inject a bit of balance to counter the "charities pay rent too" narrative....

There are some fabulous charities that only exist /thrive due to the enormous generosity of landowners either gifting them land or charging a nominal rent.

I wish we had a renewed culture of philanthropy and I wish the royal family would set the example.

Cutting the occasional ribbon and a trite interview about how much their care is not enough

They could make a tangible difference without even making a dent in their phenomenal wealth. So could many other billionaires and millionaires.

The king actually saved our local pub last week by donation.

ChardonnaysBeastlyCat · 01/07/2026 06:10

The post is from FB but is actually factual, it’s not some random, it’s a chap working with the Green Party.

Say no more!

NeverDropYourMooncup · 01/07/2026 06:26

Bunnyfuller1 · 30/06/2026 22:58

It’s not peppercorn rent, a retail park near me which is adjacent to a wildlife sanctuary last year I believe massively hiked the rents - there were some independent small pop ups that used to go there and they’ve been priced out to have the likes of Ben and Jerry’s taking over. The police used to have concessionaire rates to visit the royal palaces - no more, prices have soared and social club subs can no longer pay for it.

unless you are personally very wealthy, I cannot understand why this excess is defended.

Why would anybody give a monkeys about police officers paying the same as anybody else if they want to go gawping around the royal palaces on a day off?

CollectorOfAnimals · 01/07/2026 06:32

Everyone should read the book by Norman Baker (former MP and member of the privy council) called Royal Mint, National Debt. It’s shocking and shows the Royal finances are dodgy af.

Spottyvases · 01/07/2026 06:45

Miranda65 · 30/06/2026 22:54

The Crown Estate is a business doing perfectly normal business things. And of course charities, hospitals etc have to pay rent.
Some of the people on this board believe the most utter nonsense about the Royal Family. But they are fed it by the media - I heard a contributor on national radio last week confidently state that "ticket sales from visitors to Buckingham Palace go straight into the King's pocket"..... bullshit! The money goes to the Royal Collection Trust, which is an excellent charity which looks after the collection of artworks, objects, documents etc that belong to all of us.
So much misinformation out there....

Righto - so many knowledgeable and clever posters on this thread.

Please explain to me about that land owned by the King near Wigan that has been covered by a massive pile of rubbish. He (or his lawyers etc) are trying to sell off the land to the council so the clean up costs don't fall to him - the landowner. Instead it would fall to the council and bankrupt them as it is going to cost millions.

Just wondered where the spirit of philanthropy falls into this scenario?

AgnesX · 01/07/2026 07:01

Bunnyfuller1 · 30/06/2026 22:50

And the anti trans just rolled into town….

The point (possibly) being that the Greens have their own agenda to peddle. That combination of fact, half facts and being economical with the truth.

Cheese55 · 01/07/2026 07:04

Spottyvases · 01/07/2026 06:45

Righto - so many knowledgeable and clever posters on this thread.

Please explain to me about that land owned by the King near Wigan that has been covered by a massive pile of rubbish. He (or his lawyers etc) are trying to sell off the land to the council so the clean up costs don't fall to him - the landowner. Instead it would fall to the council and bankrupt them as it is going to cost millions.

Just wondered where the spirit of philanthropy falls into this scenario?

The ticket revenue is counted as the amount of tourist money the RF bring to the UK. Forgetting that tourists would still visit BP in the same way as you go and see the Taj Mahal. The visitors don't think they are going to meet the RF.

SomeoneIsWrongOnTheInternet · 01/07/2026 07:16

This is just legal semantics. It matters not whether the rent goes straight to ‘The Royal Family’ or to a body called ‘The Crown Estate’.

The question is why one body owns so much land, primarily for the benefit of one family, and can take total ownership of it in a way that involves charging our public services doing public good work. Especially in a time when the wealth of the former is beyond measure, really, and the latter are on their knees.

Not a bad phrasing at the end there, because the answer to the first part is because we were conquered brutally 1000 years ago and the elites have ever since treated us as their possessions to do what they want with. To impoverish at will. I can remember when people in the 70s and 80s were proud to call the British a ‘free people’. But it’s just not true, as the years of impoverishment since the 1980s have shown. Keep tugging your forelocks people. You know these inheriting parasites inherently have more value and wealth than the other 68 million of us by right of birth and have full rights of life and livelihood over the rest of us. Get back on your knees plebs and how dare you even look at those aristos directly. Rebuild the gardeners tunnels and servants staircases.

Trezo · 01/07/2026 08:50

Since William has control of Duchy of Cornwall he has brought in experts so to maximise his profits to the detriment of the public good, sending emails out regularly, rather than doing so called royal duties.
Dartmoor has only 6% trees compared to 13% elsewhere and the land is not in good state. Read Norman Baker
Royal Mint
National Debt.
The Shocking Truth About The Royals' Finances. Former MP and member of the Privy Council

The Times has said. Just like the Crown Estate, the duchies are national assets, not private 'private' ones. It is time for the government to consolidate all three into a National Estate.....The gravey train must end.

HelloPossible · 01/07/2026 10:06

HelenaWilson · 01/07/2026 00:52

Even if it was no longer required for administrative and ceremonial purposes, BP would still exist The government would still have to pay for its upkeep.

At present The Royals have responsibility for Buckingham Palace and the staff but have chosen to live in Clarence House a private residence. I believe in time this responsibility will fall to Government and is what the Royals mean by slimming down. The buildings will still be used in the same way they are now but upkeep and staffing will be Government responsibility. I just don’t think the Royals want to have the responsibility of these massive buildings or estates that they don’t actually own anymore.

Cheese55 · 01/07/2026 10:10

HelloPossible · 01/07/2026 10:06

At present The Royals have responsibility for Buckingham Palace and the staff but have chosen to live in Clarence House a private residence. I believe in time this responsibility will fall to Government and is what the Royals mean by slimming down. The buildings will still be used in the same way they are now but upkeep and staffing will be Government responsibility. I just don’t think the Royals want to have the responsibility of these massive buildings or estates that they don’t actually own anymore.

Why did we pay for the renovation ?

Greenand · 01/07/2026 10:24

Bunnyfuller1 · 30/06/2026 21:32

Publishing tax figures are meaningless unless balanced with what the original income was, and what 3xactly from that income hasn’t been counted for tax purposes.

Landlords aren’t royals spouting platitudes about charity whilst still charging the rent. They already have enough income to survive without having to work for hundreds of years to come. And not all duchy monies go into the treasury.

The post is from FB but is actually factual, it’s not some random, it’s a chap working with the Green Party.

He may be from the Green Party (but I do hope not!) but he nonetheless seems ignorant of the facts.

HelloPossible · 01/07/2026 10:35

Cheese55 · 01/07/2026 10:10

Why did we pay for the renovation ?

It’s not a private residence of the Royal family it’s owned by the Crown. But the system is set up in such a way the Royals do get involved in the upkeep as part of the grant they get which is a percentage of the profits from the Crown estate. I expect the numbers received through the grant just aren’t enough to pay for huge renovations that needed doing. If the Royals don’t actually live there anymore and it’s just used for state uses the argument for handing it over completely to Government to look after like any other state building is strong.

The Royals are hugely privately wealthy but also have these responsibilities through the Crown which isn’t private wealth but the role of looking after assets for the nation. I believe they are edging towards dropping this and leaving it all for the nation/ government to worry about. It’s why some of the anti- monarchy rhetoric where it’s obvious the difference between private wealth and The Crown is never made only help them in many ways.

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