Queen to spend millions funding Prince Andrew's defence

[adrianmolesmole]

I seriously think this will damage her reputation.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/queen-prince-andrew-epstein-millions-legal-case-b1931084.html

Whole family is a joke.

Her money, her choice. He is her son. Pretty sure most of the people on her would do/have done the same for their child(ren)

See my post about DoL paying for this which will reduce income to pay for the RF which means an increase in funding from us via sovereign grant.

How do you know funds for Prince Andrew solicitor would come from the Crown Estate? The Queen of England has a personal net worth of £365m that she has inherited privately from her parents and so on. Of course £100m is tied up in her stamp collection, but all the same she has private money that did not come from the Duchy of Lancaster (Crown Estate). Besides the Crown Estate is neither private nor public property...no taxes paid by citizens go into funding the Crown Estate.

@Chloemol

Her money, her choice. He is her son. Pretty sure most of the people on her would do/have done the same for their child(ren)

Given that no-one on here is the Queen and the Head of State of the UK and beyond, bearing great position and responsibility, entrusted with crown lands and the Church of England on behalf of her loyal subjects, I think invoking what 'most people on here would do' is a rather spurious comparison.

Correction- The Queen is not paying for that idiot. The great British public is paying.

It's Duchy of Lancaster funds which is used to pay for some if the RF.
So... let's say this whole debacle costs £20M. The sovereign grant will have to be topped up by that amount to compensate.

No the Duchy of Lancaster pays for ALL of the RF. The Crown Estate's profits are given every year to the British government. However, 25% of the profits are given back to the queen and the royal family as part of the Sovereign Grant, which is used to fund the royal family itself on an annual basis. For example, this year's figure of £85.9 million is 25% of The Crown Estate's profits in 2018/19. From what I have read the Crown Estate (Duchy of Lancaster). There is no “topping up” by tax revenues from U.K. Treasury. The Royal Family have always been net contributors to the U.K. Treasury.

@Lampzade

Correction- The Queen is not paying for that idiot. The great British public is paying.

No you’re not.

"Plan*. He's not destitute, at least his family isn't but in some way or other we'll still be paying
How do you know funds for Prince Andrew solicitor would come from the Crown Estate

That is what has been reported. Plenty of news sources out there confirming this

No,.of course we don't pay tax to fund the Duchy! It's used to finance some of the RF with the tax payer funding the sovereign grant
Do hope the tenants on DoL land and properties are happy where their rent is going, to defend a sleaze like PA.

I believe the DoL connection has been reported now in the broadsheet newspapers in the UK. They could be speculating; but seem sure of their sources.

I'd forgotten about the stamp collection. I bet Andrew hasn't. I can imagine him flouncing around demanding millions for lawyers, security, homes, vehicles, staff ... And mama can jolly well sell some ruddy stamps to pay for it. Doesn't she know who I am!

Haha, as if the RF cost us nothing!!!

“It has been reported”. Not true until it happens.

If I understand it correctly (and please feel free to tell me I'm wrong), PA is is arguing about not going to court due to a technicality, which means that HM is paying, not for his defence, but to keep him from having to give evidence that could harm the RF's image. If it were my son, I'd want him in court to give him a chance to clear his name, so clearly HM is scared of what will come out should he have to stand in the dock.

Yes we are. We've been swindled good and proper for decades.

Whichever books Q fiddles to actually pay the lawyers to defend her debauched second son, Q gets 20 million A YEAR just from the DofL, a residual private income stream mysteriously not transferred to the Crown Estates in the 18th century.

Why does she then need millions and millions year after year from the sovereign grant, which is increased on her whim to fund, among other things, the renovation of Buckingham Palace?

All this with no auditing and no independent enquiry. Q is a swindler.

A Republic may be a way off still, but the number of marching feet in the column is slowly swelling.

Also, if the DofL is not a public asset, why does it have its own government minister?

@ChurchofLatterDayPaints

Also, if the DofL is not a public asset, why does it have its own government minister?

Look it up. The Crown Estate is neither public nor private asset. It is a separate legal entity.

The Sovereign Grant is a thing to behold. Why can it only ever go up and not down by law?

"The Act includes a provision that prevents a fall in the value of the Sovereign Grant. It was put into force this year when the Crown Estate portfolio fell by more than £500 million in value, after land and property investments went sour during the pandemic. Instead of taking it on the chin like every other business owner who has seen their assets hit due to covid-19, the taxpayer has bailed the royals out - ensuring that the Sovereign Grant will not fall in value for the next financial year.

This is patently not acceptable at a time of national economic calamity. The bailout by HM Treasury means that money that would have been spent on public services has now been diverted to the royals. This is expected to give the monarch a grant of £86.3 million for the year 2020-2021. Despite the Act guaranteeing the royals will never make a loss, the Sovereign Grant has ballooned in size, giving them year on year increases for the past decade above levels of inflation. In 2016-17 the grant was worth £42.8 million, which steeply jumped to £76.1 million in 2017-18 and continued to rise handsomely until this year. The royal family have a rising income under this system, but now they must ride the bad times like the rest of us"

Does this mean when the BP renovations are complete, the RF will still be entitled to the inflated Sovereign Grant that paid for that??

the tax payer funding the sovereign grant

@Roussette. No the sovereign grant is 25% of the profits from the Crown Estate. Zero taxes from tax payers go into the Crown Estate.

The Crown Estate is neither public nor private asset. It is a separate legal entity

Exactly. You've hit the nail on the head there.

It's public when it suits certain tax laws, and private when it suits others.

It's a very grey area. And don't get me started on the Duchy of Cornwall

Plan you might like to extend the myth that the taxpayer pays nothing for the RF. It is untrue.

A report in 2019 revealed that Queen Elizabeth II and her family cost the British people £67 million during the previous year.

A Sovereign Grant report showed that the royal household received £7 million from the Royal Collection Trust in 2018, with total royal expenses from the family coming in at £67 million.

Accounts for the Sovereign Grant, which funds the Queen and her household’s official expenses, show the monarchy cost the taxpayer £67m during 2018-19 – an increase of almost £20m in the previous financial year.

And Plan this is from the Sovereign Grant Accounts.

He's lived off his Mother since the day he was born. As do his ex wife and children.

I'm not saying it's right, but it's hardly something new.

Where does the money generated by the Duchy of Lancaster and Cornwall come from
do you think? It’s from rents paid by tenants who live on their land and who will never get a chance to buy their homes.

And let's look at Security.

Royals receive security for public duties and some of them are also protected around the clock by publicly funded security - namely The Queen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, Camilla, Prince William, Kate and their three children.

This security is paid for by the UK government’s Treasury. The Treasury does not disclose the agreement regarding how much this costs or who benefits most from the agreement.

'Does not disclose'. I bet they don't!

the Sovereign Grant has ballooned in size, giving them year on year increases for the past decade above levels of inflation. In 2016-17 the grant was worth £42.8 million, which steeply jumped to £76.1 million in 2017-18 and continued to rise handsomely until this year. The royal family have a rising income under this system, but now they must ride the bad times like the rest of us

Again, the Sovereign Grant is 25% of the Crown Estate profits. So of course as profits go up, their share goes up. It has has record years up to the pandemic. The Sovereign Grant is not a fixed income.

Think, if it were private legal entity, ie a Ltd company as most property portfolios are done, they’d be keeping 81% of profits and only paying the 19% corporate taxation rate. As it is, the RF are paying a 75% tax rate on the profits of the Crown Estate. That’s in recognition of it not being private. But neither is it public property. I think a 25/75 split is pretty fair.

Where does the money generated by the Duchy of Lancaster and Cornwall come from do you think? It’s from rents paid by tenants who live on their land and who will never get a chance to buy their homes

Exactly!
And do they want their rents spent on Andrew's legal bills?

@Roussette

And let's look at Security.

Royals receive security for public duties and some of them are also protected around the clock by publicly funded security - namely The Queen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, Camilla, Prince William, Kate and their three children.

This security is paid for by the UK government’s Treasury. The Treasury does not disclose the agreement regarding how much this costs or who benefits most from the agreement.

'Does not disclose'. I bet they don't!

Security for all public figures is covered by the government. If you had an elected head of state’s you’d be paying the same security costs for them and their family. And not just one head of state and family at a time, also for all prior heads of state and families until their death. Look at the US, the cost for security for former presidents and families far exceeds the cost of security for the current president and family.