King Charles To Get A 45% Pay Rise

[BuxFizz]

“The review of the Royal funding settlement was heavily spun by the Treasury to give the impression that the King would be taking a pay cut so the Crown Estates funds could instead be spent on public services.

In fact, the report reveals the Monarchy is due to receive a huge pay increase.

In 2025, the King’s public funding will increase by a projected £38.5 million.

Lord Turnbull, a former cabinet secretary and Whitehall’s most senior civil servant, who was involved in the official discussions accused the Treasury of seeking to obfuscate how the Monarchy was funded.

He said that linking the Royal finances to the profits of the Crown Estates was “silly” and motivated by a desire to promote the idea that the King was paying for himself and was reducing the burden on the taxpayer.

The complicated formula used to determine the Sovereign Grant was introduced in 2011 by then Prime Minister David Cameron, and his Chancellor George Osborne. Removing Parliament’s centuries old control over Royal funding. They created a new formula that tied the Monarch’s funding to a percentage of the profits of the Crown Estates.”

I’m surprised that this formula to calculate the Sovereign Grant was so recent, does anyone know how it was calculated before?

Also, the irony isn’t lost on me that this new formula was proposed by George Osborne, one the chief architects of Austerity.

King Charles Set To Receive A Huge Pay Rise From UK Taxpayers

And the rise in the Crown Estates has been triggered in part by the profit from leasing the seabed for wind farms! Surely this should be a national asset.

It should indeed but the late and dutiful queen started eyeing up the seabed in the era of North Sea gas extraction and made damn sure she got first dibs:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/05/how-the-queen-came-to-own-the-seabed-around-britain

The greedy apple hasn't fallen far from the tree.

This article in todays Guardian discusses the Crown estate issue. I haven’t read the comments yet but they are always worth reading too.

As graham Smith says - Charles no more owns the crown estate than Rishi Sunak owns no10.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jul/22/royal-secrecy-public-money-crown-estate-king-charles

Interesting article here detailing another vast pay rise linked to the Crown Estate.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jul/19/crown-estate-triples-pay-of-ceo-in-three-years-to-nearly-16m

Getting tired of being told that Charles is acting altruistically (Camilla not claiming the same pocket money Philip was inexplicably trousering being another case in point) when it's increasingly clear he's only about Charles.

Without wishing to descend to ad hominem, I actually think I despise Cameron even more than Johnson.

Good article there, Novella

A return to a fixed Civil List figure and a full breakdown on what each is getting and how they're spending it might be a start but even then there's the problem of the secretive duchies and what's going on there.

There is a reason why the monarchy is more secretive than our security services: it has plenty to hide. It is not unreasonable to conclude that the institution is corrupt, if corruption is the abuse of public office for personal gain. Whether it’s using tens of millions of pounds each year to cover costssuch as travel or palatial homes, or lobbying the government in pursuit of their private interests or political agendas, the royals exploit their status and position week in, week out.

thank you for the article @Novella4 the above paragraph is so accurate!

Thanks too @CathyorClaire for the one regarding ownership and profits

The Queen’s ownership of the British coastline is as old as the monarchy itself. But her right to collect royalties from wind and wave power is much more recent: it was granted by Tony Blair’s Labour government in a 2004 act of parliament.

It’s confusing on purpose so people won’t question their funding.

Cameron and Osborne changed their funding to be tied to the Crown Estates profits in 2011 to make it seem that they are paying for themselves. When they are not.

Charles also pays 0 cooperation tax from the profits generated by his duchies, first Cornwall and now Lancaster. Also paid 0 inheritance tax and Royal wills are exempt from being made public.

Not to mention Charles siphoning money through his charities. Qataris giving millions of £££ wrapped in Fortnum & Mason bags. Meeting ‘private clients’ of Tory Party chairman Ben Elliot (who also happens to be his nephew). These clients also happen to be Tory donors.

Service & duty indeed…

Sovereign assets that are passed to the next monarch are not subject to IHT but the rest of the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh’s estates would be taxed.

It’s worth noting that there are various IHT exemptions that would mean part of the Royal death estates would be exempt from IHT anyway, namely conditional exemption and agricultural property relief.

This! By spinning that they’re doing us plebs a favour by taking 12% when they’re actually taking MORE money during a cost of living crisis is really devious.

And shows how dumb they think the public are.

2004?

Wow! They really make this shit up as they go along… just like the Sovereign Grant.

Late and dutiful Queen

🤣🤣🤣

Yes. They literally can make up anything they like and just do it and because so many of this country just shrug their shoulders and say ' but its only 1.2p for me' they get away with it.

They appear to be an exceptionally greedy family without morals.

Exactly! People are duped.

Disgusting family and one of the many reasons I am a republican. However, despite periods of optimism throughout my life I have become doubtful that people will ever stop being duped. I refuse to get drawn into any of the nonsense- no funeral/ wedding /coronation observance etc and just resign myself to the fact that many people like all the frippery and seem quite happy to subsidise it.

They literally can make up anything they like and just do it

Much like Charles selling his own trees to the duchy of Cornwall and trousering two million or so in the process and recycling the rent he paid on Highgrove back into his own pocket.

The scale of the ducking and diving is repellent and there's no doubt plenty more hidden behind the FOI exemptions they enjoy.

Worth noting the royals hired a PR company who compiled a list of at least 100 closeted skeletons they thought Harry might drag into the light at some point.

Just let the inbred, dysfunctional tax-avoiding grifters pay for themselves.

And it seems to be getting worse?

Is this down to Charles? This 45% payrise to him dressed up as a reduction is beyond a joke. They must think the british population barely have a brain cell between them

Away with you and your facts and accurate figures. This is a place for frothing, no reasonable arguments will be tolerated.

Well it isn't accurate, that's the point! Its believing the spin! Their funds are not reducing and there is a clause to make sure that never happens. The original percentage was 15%, it went up to 25% and now its going down to 12% because the sums are so much much more. It says in the post you're responding to, 'so they only receive 25% of what they earn', which is so false and misleading. They do not earn any of it.

Funny how a few negative stories about Meghan and Harry have surfaced recently....... almost to distract from something else!

I don't hate the RF but I am moving towards wanting to see their roles cut down and having less of them getting free accommodation/staff. Plus I would like to see more transparency about their relationship with the press. I think we are being manipulated.

You can read the obfuscation on this thread. Such as the suggestion that increased profits are due to a new king being in charge. When the real reason is they charge for the rights to access the seabed for wind farms.
It is not earned.

Also it does go to show that money can always be found for those that already have more than enough and spun as something 'good and necessary '. Whilst hard working teachers, doctors, nurses, transport staff etc are made out to be greedy for wanting more than a life of budgeting and beans on toast.

All the RF are benefit scroungers who deliberately hide their wealth from us plebs. Charles should pay tax on all income and assets, for starters. Can't believe we still treat RF with such kid gloves in this day and age. Makes us all look like fools.