Harry and Meghan News thread

[Viviennemary]

I thought we could have a thread for latest news. MN did say they didn't mind one or two threads. And no rules except stick to MN guidelines. It's Meghans birthday today I just read. And the Queen has wished her a very happy birthday on the royal Instagram page according to that popular Oracle the DM.

Bemorechicken

I think you need to check your figures! Unless you can point me in the direction of where Charles gets his billions from the Government!

Any money gathered by the Duchy from people who died intestate is given to charity - not to Charles' pocket!

Whassup??

Me too! So much censorship on what you can say and what’s not allowed

I would like to know who makes the rules as I thought this was a place we could come to discuss things - obviously in the past few weeks that has been put onto the “not allowed” list.....

@ajandjjmum really? I always thought it went to him. I guess people in Cornwall make sure they write their wills!

If you aren't happy with the rules and moderation why not raise it on the site stuff board. Nobody can deal with it here.

Didn't fact check it but copied and pasted : As below -
Prince Charles receives a source of income from the Duchy of Cornwall, which he applies toward charitable work and official activities. This financial arrangement also goes toward covering the official costs of members of his immediate family, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (who according to Good Housekeeping has a net worth of $5 million), Prince William and Kate, Prince Harry and Meghan. In 2019, the Prince of Wales website stated that he received $28.7 million from the Duchy of Cornwall, $2.6 million in Sovereign Grant and $784.1million in Government Departments.

Well it's just not true. Charles does not receive £784m from government departments.

@Viviennemary

If you aren't happy with the rules and moderation why not raise it on the site stuff board. Nobody can deal with it here.

Sorry @Viviennemary - just thinking out loud really.

I do wish they’d pin board specific rules TBH, but I CBA to get into a site stuff discussion about it. Not in a Sunday, anyway.

@Viviennemary then why are people on here saying we can’t post from certain sites? Or we can only post positive things?

Sorry if I it sounds like I am being argumentative but it seems very one sided and MN never used to be like that and I am trying to catch up on what’s changed

@Bemorechicken

Didn't fact check it but copied and pasted : As below - Prince Charles receives a source of income from the Duchy of Cornwall, which he applies toward charitable work and official activities. This financial arrangement also goes toward covering the official costs of members of his immediate family, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (who according to Good Housekeeping has a net worth of $5 million), Prince William and Kate, Prince Harry and Meghan. In 2019, the Prince of Wales website stated that he received $28.7 million from the Duchy of Cornwall, $2.6 million in Sovereign Grant and $784.1million in Government Departments.

Where did you copy and paste this from?

Bemorechicken. Source for those figures that you cut and pasted? A British government document?

am trying to catch up on what’s changed

Me too. Something about “bottom feeding” I think!

Oops. Duplicate comment there

@Bemorechicken I found your text here finance.yahoo.com/news/much-money-does-british-royal-203342545.html Not sure if it is the originating source but a link to the website included in the 'article' shows the article has taken £600,000 and (lets say charitably) transposed it to £600million

@ajandjjmum

Bemorechicken

I think you need to check your figures! Unless you can point me in the direction of where Charles gets his billions from the Government!

Any money gathered by the Duchy from people who died intestate is given to charity - not to Charles' pocket!

From the DOC website: It goes to the DOC. How it is then distributed is up to the fund. Interest collected on the amount ? investments but then look at the numbers below-the charity it goes to etc is decided by DOC. The DOC is a massive fund which supports the Heir to the Throne. Just saying........... The Duke of Cornwall's Benevolent Fund In Cornwall, when an individual dies with no will or surviving relatives their property (or 'estate') passes to The Duke of Cornwall. He only set up this fund in 1975. He became POW in 1958 -prior to this nothing was given away -so for twenty years -it went to him (and a few hundred years before that). Since 1975 the DOC Benevloent Fund has only given away £850K in total but I believe a 6 year income from 2006-2012 gave an income of over £1 million -and that is not the total since 1975 -so where is the money? What happened to it before 1975? Where is it? It doesn't seem very transparent to me.

On the other thread they are posting links to lots of sources - admittedly only “positive” articles

So I am allowed to deduct that I can post whatever I want as long as it shows H&M in a “good” light?

Charles become DOC in 1973. Give him a year or two to get the find set up properly with objectives, trustees sorted, that gets you to 1975 per your info.

@Bemorechicken

Didn't fact check it but copied and pasted : As below - Prince Charles receives a source of income from the Duchy of Cornwall, which he applies toward charitable work and official activities. This financial arrangement also goes toward covering the official costs of members of his immediate family, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (who according to Good Housekeeping has a net worth of $5 million), Prince William and Kate, Prince Harry and Meghan. In 2019, the Prince of Wales website stated that he received $28.7 million from the Duchy of Cornwall, $2.6 million in Sovereign Grant and $784.1million in Government Departments.

I don't know where the quote above is copied from, but a link to the Prince of Wales official website does not show these figures.

The link to his website and the page showing income and expenditure is here. The figures are the ones quoted by Serenster earlier in the thread. There are plenty of reasonable questions to ask and greater transparency would be good, but Charles is not receiving hundreds of millions. The figures in the charts are in thousands, not millions.

www.princeofwales.gov.uk/annual-review/2018-2019/income-expenditure-and-staff

@ArriettyJones

all of them as straight as sidewinders on speed

Great expression!

I must admit I don’t really know who he is, but doesn’t John Lastis also host PC on his yacht? Or lend him his yacht? So if JL is in anyway disreputable or shady, PC is involving himself more than is necessary to solicit charity donations? Maybe that’s how the lines get blurred - in the schmoozing.

I think you are right about lines getting blurred in the schmoozing. I also think that schmoozing is a very dangerous activity for royals. Prince Andrew has caused himself no end of problems by being linked with people and activities he should have stayed a million miles away from.

Ignore that. Mixed info on google. Yes, looks like he inherited the title in 1952 but not officially proclaimed DOC until 1973

@lboogy

Can't see how the Sussex squad is any worse than you guys dedicating time and effort to write how much you hate her

I can’t see anyone on here hating her. That’s much too strong an emotion for Meghan. This is a generalised thread of people who have differing views about the way H&M went about leaving the RF (I don’t think anyone even disagrees with them leaving as they were unhappy) and their actions since. I really can’t see how or where you have read hatred into things.

From the DOC website: It goes to the DOC. How it is then distributed is up to the fund. Interest collected on the amount ? investments but then look at the numbers below-the charity it goes to etc is decided by DOC. The DOC is a massive fund which supports the Heir to the Throne. Just saying...........

From the most recent (indepedendently audited) accounts of the Duchy of Cornwall. In sum: the amounts vary quite a bit, year to year, as you might expect, they make some payments from (ex gratia would normally indicate to settle obligations of the source of the funds) pay their costs, keep a proportion back in case heirs do come forward to claim it, and then pay what's left to the charitable fund. All seems pretty transparent.

During the year, His Royal Highness in right of his Duchy of Cornwall, received bona vacantia (being the estate of deceased intestates resident in Cornwall and dying without next of kin or assets remaining following dissolution of a company registered in Cornwall) of £201,000 (2019: £868,000) before allowing for ex gratia payments, returns and other associated costs of £182,000 (2019: £64,000). Surplus receipts of bona vacantia by His Royal Highness are paid over to The Duke of Cornwall’s Benevolent Fund; £nil (2019: £132,000) was paid during the year. At 31st March 2020 the Duchy retained £824,000 (2019: £805,000) within creditors to meet potential future claims from individuals statutorily entitled to estates which had previously passed as bona vacantia to His Royal Highness

Also, Prince Charles doesn't just sit there running the Duchy himself as his personal fiefdom. It has a governance structure, with a council sitting at the top overseeing various committees, and with external scrutiny both by Treasury and the Houses of Parliament as well as being independently audited, and publishing its financial accounts every year (which isn't necessary, as it's not a limited company.

I remember hearing a tenant praising Charles and his running of the Duchy, saying how he had improved it beyond belief since he became responsible in his 20's. There was a very interesting documentary only a few months ago, that followed him around the Duchy, and showed the different aspects of running the business. His tenants seem to love him.

I know it would never happen but it would be so interesting to have a completely off the record chat with Sophie or Kate about life as a newcomer to the RF. I would include Meghan in this fantasy off the record chat but I'm particularly interested in hearing from 'lifers' as it were...

Am not talking here about gossip or slagging off other members but what it is like to join the institution. I was thinking for those born into it, it must take considerable self awareness, strong friendship networks etc not to believe one's own hype etc. I wonder what its like to move from relative normality (albeit privileged normality) to the gilded cage of the RF.... Does it always seem hyper surreal or do you end up with an institutional take on Stockholm syndrome