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The royal family

Three Houses or Four

231 replies

antelopevalley · 18/08/2022 12:54

Yahoo has an update piece about the three houses the Cambridges now have, alongside some of the renovation costs. Still, it is one less than Charles who has four residences.
William and Charles - the great environmentalists.

"When they moved into Kensington Palace: There was understandably some controversy when it was revealed that the move would also be coming with an eye-watering renovation bill to be picked up by the British taxpayer. Neglected and run-down, Apartment 1A at Kensington Palace required a number of major changes and updates for it to be brought up to liveable standards (and allow the couple to add their own personal touches). In 2014, the Sovereign Grant confirmed that it cost over $5.4 million (£4.5m) to complete.

A necessary investment: At the time, press aides told outlets, including myself, that the costs were a necessary investment as the couple planned to use the property as a permanent base to work and raise a family. This house, they assured, would be their forever home. Though the Cambridges had another residence in Norfolk—a property on the Sandringham Estate for school holidays and escaping the city—the $1.8 million (£1.5m) renovation costs for Anmer Hall, a wedding gift from the Queen, were all paid for privately.

The new driveway: In 2019, the duke and duchess added a further $1.2 million (£1 million) to their Sovereign Grant-funded renovation costs at Kensington Palace by installing a new driveway. It was a figure that left many scratching their heads, but was mostly ignored by sections of the press who were more focused on how much Harry and Meghan would be spending on their new crib.
The move to Windsor: Despite the palace promise, the Cambridges’ time at “KP” has come to an end after nine years. Later this month they will move to a new abode in Windsor, for a life “away from the goldfish bowl” in London and what a source tells me is an effort to give their children “as normal a life as possible”. It’s a decision that has raised a few eyebrows, particularly at a time when the country is dealing with a major cost of living crisis. Picking up a third home, especially when one of them cost the public so much to renovate, is hardly the norm for regular folk.

Adelaide isn’t costing the taxpayers anything?? Still, Adelaide Cottage comes at no expense to anyone but the couple, I’m told. Rather than buy, the couple have chosen to privately rent. Any desired cosmetic work or refurbishments will be paid from their own pockets. (It remains to be seen how the duke and duchess will travel to and from London—their love for helicopter trips, which the British press prefer to turn a blind eye to, are not just an unfair cost to the public but also go completely against William’s environmental concerns).

They wanted to get the kids out of London. “They thought about moving to [their home in] Norfolk, but as active senior working royals they could never be that far away from London, so that’s where Windsor came into the picture,” says the source."
uk.style.yahoo.com/prince-william-kate-windsor-move-kensington-palace-153609273.html

OP posts:
antelopevalley · 25/08/2022 11:40

@Serenster "The arrangement you are talking about though antelopevalley applies where the office facilities are donated. If there are charges for the central administration -say for the staff (people generally want to be paid..), rent to be paid for the office premises etc then they will need to be paid. And the expenses included in the accounts, as the National Audit Office expects, and as these were."

When office space and admin services are donated by a private company to a charity, they are still being paid by the private company. This is a fairly ordinary situation for charities that are good at fundraising. It is easier to get a company to donate in kind than give actual cash. So use of an underused meeting room to turn into an office, being able to ask the admin team to do mail-outs during quiet periods, and use of meeting rooms, are common in-kind benefits some companies give to charities they care about. I have volunteered for charities that had a company second a staff member one day a week to a charity.
The company do have to cost up these donations and these are reflected in the charity accounts as in-kind donations.
It is pretty routine and if the accountants for Earthshot can not do this in the accounts, they should be sacked.

OP posts:
antelopevalley · 25/08/2022 11:45

@Serenster As a few of us said on another thread, the accounts do not give enough details to know whether money was well spent. Did they spend money commissioning the TV series? If so how much and did they make money from selling it? How much did they spend on the book and how much did they make from the sales? How much on general pr?

OP posts:
TankFlyBossW4lk · 25/08/2022 17:46

I think Charles is already doing that

He's not doing anything of the sort. He believes that the RF should get more support from the state and have all the Crown Estate income. He thinks they are strapped for cash.

ajandjjmum · 25/08/2022 17:51

TankFlyBossW4lk · 25/08/2022 17:46

I think Charles is already doing that

He's not doing anything of the sort. He believes that the RF should get more support from the state and have all the Crown Estate income. He thinks they are strapped for cash.

Who on earth has told you that is what he believes?

CPL593H · 25/08/2022 18:12

TankFlyBossW4lk · 25/08/2022 17:46

I think Charles is already doing that

He's not doing anything of the sort. He believes that the RF should get more support from the state and have all the Crown Estate income. He thinks they are strapped for cash.

I said that semi ironically. Duchy Originals may have been sold off (the profits went to charity beforehand) but there is also the Highgrove Collection. I believe the profits from that go to the Prince's Foundation so no, he is not supporting himself with it, but effectively yes, he is selling things.

If you think the profits from either company did go into his coffers, more than happy to see the proof.

TankFlyBossW4lk · 25/08/2022 18:45

@ajandjjmum
Read And What Do You Do, Norman Baker . As I've posted a couple of times in different threads. It will help your understanding of the Constitution.

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