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.

No, the funds in question would never have been spent on public projects because of the laws regarding the sovereign grant and how it cannot be reduced

Therein lies the rub. That is so wrong.

So it is massively inflated now because of BP renovations. What happens when BP has had it's work done? It still won't go down??

I doubt that Plan. You cannot be serious that the whole of the RF cost less than one Head of State surely.

You won't like this but...

The campaign group Republic assert that the full annual cost of the British monarchy to be at least £350,000,000 a year, when including lost revenue from the two duchies, security, costs met by local councils and police forces, and lost tax revenue

@Roussette
“The reservicing of Buckingham Palace will be funded through a temporary uplift in the Sovereign Grant, as recommended by the Royal Trustees and approved by Parliament.”
www.royal.uk/reservicing-buckingham-palace-0

Is what the web page says. So, it goes back down after the ten year renovations are done in 2027. U.K. would have to pay for it anyway as Queen doesn’t actually own Buckingham Palace. It’s part of the Crown Estates, so Crown Estates should pay for it, and they are.

I like the word 'temporary' Plan!

I shall make a diary note for June 2027 forthwith.

To check it does go down

This public-private thing (not directed at any poster, instead at the argument) can fuck right off.

It's private when it suits Q & Co, public when she wants something paying for. All decided by her, as if we were still in the 14th century. Likewise, she whines about invasion of privacy when she doesn't want us to know things, then everything's "in the constitution" or "in the interests of the nation."

Q inherited millions in land and wealth from what was essentially a bunch of landgrabbers and Nazis. She has since increased her personal fortune to eyewatering proportions and invented a host of meaningless ceremonies which some posters hilariously call "doing [valid] stuff" while giving nothing, nothing at all except Hollywood fantasies for the gullible.

How the monarchy was allowed to continue at all after Edward VIII says a lot about Britain, none of it complimentary.

She'll go down as the biggest cheat in the history of the British monarchy, not as the paragon of virtue and defender of duty and tradition she wants us to believe she is.

@Roussette
I’ll look up Republic campaign group and see what their assertions are based on. On surface a £350m/year asserted costs looks extremely high to me. For one security, police costs etc is a sunk cost, you’d have that no matter if inherited head of state or elected head of state. Too, they talk about “revenue” which ignores all costs when it should be profits/net income that is compared. So they’re definitely doing some funny maths.

It's just two sides of a coin isn't it...opposing views and unquantifiable figures on both sides

I do agree Church on the public/private thing.
It means manipulation of finances and taxes as suits the RF
I just want more transparency. I think the royal report that comes out every year is just the tip of the iceberg of what the Palace give us to shut us up
I honestly think there is so so so much we don't know. They work very hard at exempting themselves from laws they don't like, and hiding their wealth, hence sealed Wills for starters

Costed here.

Sov grant, RF personal security bill, the 2 Duchy scams, cost of policing their useless visits...

She has since increased her personal fortune to eyewatering proportions

Again at £345m, she doesn’t make it into the top 250 richest in the U.K. not really “eye watering” on the scale of say the Duke of Westminster and his £10bn. She’s more down at the David and Victoria Beckham level (£380m) and can you really say that Posh Spice and a Footballer have done more than the Queen for the U.K.? Ok, maybe a little bit more, but they are £35m richer than she is....
www.thetimes.co.uk/sunday-times-rich-list

@Roussette
honestly think there is so so so much we don't know. They work very hard at exempting themselves from laws they don't like, and hiding their wealth, hence sealed Wills for starters

All rich people do this. All of them. The Panama papers made that blindingly obvious. The wealthy move their money to tax shelters. I agree the RF is no exception to the rule.

But Plan, £345m is what they want you to think.

She is worth billions, I'm on my phone, I can't link easily, but there is stuff out there to dispute that

I take no notice of Sunday Times Rich lists, do you honestly think it's not guesswork? Do you think the Times knows how much the Q has in tax havens, how much the miles of sea beds she owns is worth?

It reminds me of the US rich list when Trump was miffed he'd dropped a few places. He rang up the publication, disguised his voice, pretended to be Trump's chief accountant and got a higher position

They're all guesswork without the benefit of knowledge

That's missing the point, PdeR.

Beckham and other overpaid slebs still pay taxes. They're private sector. They may repulse some people with their obscene show of wealth for arguably useless professions but they made their own money and presumably pay tax.

Q legitimises her existence and outrageous expense on ceremonial HoS duties which she's exaggerated out of all proportion & extended to far too many people in her family while continuing to earn huge property revenues from scams (Duchies) that are mysteriously exempt from tax and disclosure rules like other businesses.

And the continued secrecy, again spuriously justified by royal "status" means it has taken us decades to join all the dots.

I dont think its a joke. I would do absolutely anything to protect my son. Its why I'm a mother.

Yes all rich people do this. Absolutely they do. But when they're rumbled they are usually reviled and at least forced out of previously-held positions. Q thinks she deserves special treatment because... She's special??

Sorry, by "all rich people" I was referring only to the ones up to no good.

@Shehasadiamondinthesky

So if you were the mother of the nameless man who has shocked the nation this week, you would have done anything to protect him?

@Roussette

No it's not the queen's private income.

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.

DoL is not a totally private estate. It can't be. Because it's exempt from Capital Gains Tax and Corporation Tax that us mere mortals have to pay

That’s because 80% of the Duchy’s income is kept by the tax payer. The 20% is the sovereign grant…

Do you count all inherited income as income from the tax payer? If not, why not? If so, I would love a couple of nights in a privately owned stately home I’ve paid enough taxes.

@Roussette
the miles of sea beds she owns is worth?
I know those are part of Crown Estates, not her private property though because they’re negotiating new wind farm leases.
But yes, I agree the Times Rich List is not 100% accurate, but it at least doesn’t count the Crown Estates as part of her wealth, which many other websites mistakenly do.

@ChurchofLatterDayPaints

Yes all rich people do this. Absolutely they do. But when they're rumbled they are usually reviled and at least forced out of previously-held positions. Q thinks she deserves special treatment because... She's special??

Not really Sir Phillip Green is still lounging on his super yacht with his £910m safety stashed away in Monaco. Wealth he got by buying and bankrupting U.K. high street businesses to include robbing the pension funds for U.K. shop workers.

Beckham and other overpaid slebs still pay taxes.

Not really, all rich people try and avoid taxes. Beckham and others were all in on an illegal tax avoidance scheme they called “Ingenious Films”
“The court noted that the total sum of tax in dispute now stood at £1.6 billion, although the company has stressed that could be recovered should the vehicles turn a profit.”
citywire.co.uk/wealth-manager/news/beckham-among-stars-facing-big-tax-bills-after-scheme-loses-1-6bn-appeal/a1254166

But Green is at least widely reviled, I think.

When you have people and their government defending and legitimising the same type of sickening greed as Green's being displayed by the HoS and purported defender of the faith/nation, you're basically living in a tinpot dictatorship.

On that note, I'm going back to the chapter of Norman Baker's book that talks about (taxpayer-funded) RF wildlife slaughter. TW for vegans/animal rights campaigners, it's heartbreaking.

But when these slebs do these tax avoidance schemes, and are found out, their rep is damaged and it follows them around forever

Beckham, Gary Barlow, Jimmy Carr, Michael Caine.
Greedy bastards

Ok PdR but again, Beckham is not being funded by the taxpayer and we aren't told to call him HRH.

Not defending him in the slightest. They're all despicable imho.