C4 Dispatches on Duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster

[Babadookinthewardrobe]

I couldn’t find another thread on this. I watched this yesterday. I am so angry. The royal family are grim parasites funding their luxury lifestyle from the sweat of the British people. Via the duchies they are rinsing the NHS and charities for millions. It’s horrific. No IHT, no CGT, no transparency, no consideration for the environment of which they are supposed to be stewards in the duchies.

Their behaviour and greed is absolutely grim
and I am so sick of the lot of them. I’m joining republic, I’m so shocked at what I’ve just seen. The French had the right idea.

Yes, the irony, and gall, actually, of William doing a project to "end homelessness" when he's basically raking it in as a landlord.

Especially in light of the recent budget, they are a prime untapped source of plugging the deficit.

On threads about homelessness,I read posts saying that the royals can't be political; however, they are political because they manipulate government policy to their favour.

Adding link

'The King, The Prince & Their Secret Millions - Watch it here on Channel 4:

www.channel4.com/programmes/the-king-the-prince-their-secret-millions?cntsrc=social_share_ios_the_king_the_prince_their_secret_millions

Exactly. It’s the hidden manipulation and dishonesty of the way they are extracting money that is so shocking. They are charging the ambulance service 11 million rent!! 11 million while people die on trolleys in corridors. They make me sick.

Are you saying that the NHS should not be paying a fair rent?

Or that the rent being charged is above market levels?

I don’t think the King should be charging the people 11 million to rent a garage on their acres of land to park their ambulances, certainly not. Has he no shame taking millions from the NHS paid for by his subjects?

Surprised this hasn't gained more traction! Royal Parasites

Valid question.my husband is frothing this morning and I can't get excited by it. Is the issue the payments themselves or who is getting them? Surely the money would also be due anyway should they not be just because it pays into the royals?

Well the royals don't have to charge a commercial rent to the NHS. They could choose to "do their bit"

So yes, it's hypocritical of them to pretend they care about cancer patients and homelessness while making a tidy fortune from rents to the public sector.

The issue is the royal family showing no morals or scruples whatsoever in demanding millions from the NHS while his people
die in the corridors. He clearly couldn’t give a toss about the well-being of us, his subjects whether we like it or not - he just sees us all as his piggy bank no matter how hard our lives are. As long as we keep him and him family in the manner they think they deserve.

Exactly. Fine if they want to make millions out of the NHS but I think they should have the decency to stop the sad face visits to hospices and hospital wards while they are doing so.

Disgusting hypocrisy

Well the royals don't have to charge a commercial rent to the NHS. They could choose to "do their bit"

Why though? The NHS has to run a commercial enterprise. The best and most transparent way for that to be done is always to have arms’ length commercial contracts with all commercial counterparties. It’s not the Duchy’s role to subsidise a state enterprise, and you’d struggle to find people who want to act as directors of it if they are required to compromise on the duties they owe to the Duchy in taking on that role.

The same people saying this is outrageous are the same people saying it’s outrageous that people connected to the royal family didn’t use to pay a market rent for properties they rented they now do). Pick a lane…

I’m just watching this now, I absolutely love the royals and think they are great for the country. I have been so naive. What the actual?

It's not the tax payers responsibility to fund a RF which isn't fit for purpose.

Totally disagree.
The royals can choose to be purely commercial but then they need to stop posturing and pretending they care.
NHS is funded by the public purse it isn't commercial. And I have acted for landlords who have done discounted (or even peppercorn) rent and similar for NHS and charities.

The royals need to stop pretending they care. Or they need to put their hands in their pockets. Anything else is hypocrisy.

Hang on a sec. This didn’t start with Charles. Nobody
made mention of this when Elizabeth was monarch. Why not? Why was she so revered? I’m glad it’s coming to light but let’s not pin all the blame on Charles; his mother was not above manipulating tax legislation for her own and her family’s benefit.

I don't think the blame lies on one person but the whole RF isn't fit for purpose.

I absolutely agree @SweetSakura

I don’t ever want to see any of these two faced hypocrites pretending to care at a hospice or hospital opening. It’s just smoke and mirrors for the look of it while extracting piles of taxpayer money in secrecy. They are truly foul.

They CHOOSE to charge rent, they don't have to. They could charge £1 a year as a token gesture or a significant discount. After all they take taxpayers money to fund their royal duties, how about giving back to the people. They have enough wealth why do they need more? And then they have laws in place they don't even pay proper tax on their duchies.

People get angry amazon doesn't pay enough tax yet we have a RF who don't and noone gets angry at that. Well you should be. Take away their status and it's just a corporation and you would be angry.

This is an awful look for Charles and William. I don't usually care one way or the other about them but I've changed my mind tbh. I don't think they should get a single penny from tax payers and I don't give a f**k how much tourism they bring. There's no point to them, they manipulate everything to their own advantage just for being born into the right family. They're all disgraceful.

I don't understand how a modern democracy has a Royal Family. The Guardian is the only news source I have seen that over the years has reported how the Queen amd RF have exploited or vetoed laws for their own benefit. Most people are completely unaware

This is not news. I believe the Duchy estates were created in the 1300s and have been run as a commercial enterprise since? The RF are the custodians.

Thanks for starting a thread. I hadn’t heard of this documentary and I’ll add it to my watch list. I wont be surprised, however, to learn of hypocrisy within the RF.

Our local council charges peppercorn rents to charities, so why doesn’t the RF? As for charging the MoD exhorbitant rent for land to train the soldiers of his OWN army, it’s just preposterous. We are massive suckers. And all tax free.

https://theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/nov/02/king-and-prince-william-estates-millions-charities-public-services-nhs-leasing-land

I find it difficult to see how anyone can defend, minimise or excuse this, to be honest.